The Gill Family Webpage

My little piggie

2010-08-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

Like I said in my previous post, Max will eat pretty much anything. This is such a change from Zoe who is still giving us a struggle. But, Max is still in his infancy stage and is not fighting for his independence too much...yet. But, if the past is any indicator, I think Max is going to be more like his Daddy while Zoe - that stubborn little princess - is more like her Mommy. We'll see though. Either way, the kids' can't go wrong! (ha ha)

This is a common sighting: Max eating cheerios of puffs. His first flavor of puffs was "sweet potato", just like his sis.

And life is just better if you have good company at the dinner (or breakfast) table:
This was Max's first restaurant meal - arroz con pollo, Cuban style. You know what they say, "When in Rome...uh I mean South Florida..."
And life would not be complete unless Max got his daily serving of train track. It's got have fiber in it, no?

Final - and first - birthday celebration

2010-08-12T20:33:00.000-05:00

We visited Granny and Granddaddy and we celebrated Zoe's 3rd birthday for the last time and Max's 1st birthday for the first time.

Zoe just couldn't be happier at the prospect of getting more cake...and presents! Because you know, the poor thing barely has a thing to play with! She got her first Gator cheerleading outfit and wouldn't take it off for hours! The pom poms actually light up as an added bonus and I tell you what, I've never seen a little girl so happy!

Max started eating real food a couple months ago and hasn't stopped eating since! There is nothing you can put down in front of this boy that he will not eat...including cake! He finished off his dinner of peas, mac-n-cheese, banana, cheerios, and bread AND then had a bunch of cake. That's my boy!

Granny and Granddaddy have a bunch of fruit trees in addition to the cows and donk donks. They also have a ton of grape vines. They've never been able to pick them (the animals or rot get them before the grapes are ripe enough to be picked), but this year was different. We spent some time helping them pick their grapes and had a blast! Zoe was taught to only pick the "dark ones", but some lighter green ones got in the bucket. She always learns something about farming when we're there and loves it.

Relaxin', ET style

2010-08-04T20:27:00.001-05:00

Watch out Max! She's got that look!

The zoo, Diego, and Daddy's rules

2010-07-31T20:07:00.001-05:00

One of the things we really miss about Nashville, is the zoo. That zoo is seriously one of the nicest I've ever been to. But, we live in Florida now so it's time to find new favorite destinations.

We have 2 zoos to chose from - one in Miami and one in West Palm Beach. We visited the Miami Metro Zoo on one of the hottest days ever, but we met with with another family and somehow we had fun despite the over 100 degree weather. The covered bikes (and adult beverages) might have have something to do with that! Oh, and the splash zone for the kids was good to cool off.

This zoo was okay. It actually looked a little run down and didn't have much shade thanks to a hurricane that ripped through the park a few years ago. Such is the fate of Floridian destinations I suppose. The coolest animal we saw (in my opinion) and one I had never seen before was the condor. That's one LARGE bird! Diego is a smart one to pick those to fly on. Coincidentally, we also saw Diego (Dora the Explorer's cousin) there. He has a whole show there where you can go and meet him. We didn't stick around for the show, but we did see Diego riding in a golf cart. I felt for the poor sucker inside that humongous head!

And as if the blonde hair and blue eyes weren't solid enough evidence that Zoe is related to her Daddy, this picture proves it. Yes, Daddy encouraged her to break the rules just for the picture and then had to explain to her why it's okay to break the rules sometimes, but not others. Hmmm, we'll file that under "Daddy Logic".

Silliness

2010-07-20T20:01:00.000-05:00

There's never a dull moment in our house!

Crawling!

2010-07-18T12:25:00.003-05:00

Everett and I went to Costa Rica for 5 nights. We saw an active, erupting volcano and many different animals including a three toed sloth, tarantulas, coatis, and monkeys, went zip lining twice through the rain forest, swam in hot springs fueled by the volcano, and ate so much arroz con pollo that I think we're set for quite a while!

Grandma and Papa B watched the kiddos while we were away and we are so thankful to them! As amazing as Costa Rica was though, we saw the most amazing thing when we came home.

Before we left, Max was kind of crawling. He had just learned to roll over in late June. To be honest, I was getting a little worried because I thought he should have been rolling over way before then. But I was happy that he started to roll over finally. Soon after, he began to "turtle" as I call it - he would get on his belly and flail his arms and legs out, but not really go anywhere. That's pretty much where he was when we left. When we came back, he was just on the cusp of crawling; a few more days and we would have missed it!

Well the week we got back, he not only was crawling all over the place, but I saw him pull himself up! Now, he is more up than down! He's cruising along furniture and hates it when he's laying down or buckled up in his car seat - well this hatred isn't new, but he had gotten used to the car seat. He just wants to be standing at all times!

We caught this video early one morning. You can see Zoe "teaching" him. She's such a good big sister!

Going Bananas

2010-07-18T12:01:00.006-05:00

Yes we have some bananas!

Happy 3rd Birthday Zoe!

2010-05-31T20:47:00.003-05:00

Zoe turned 3 and ordered up a pink princess cake so that's what she got! Zoe was lucky enough to get a bunch of gifts, including princess dresses! Each time she opened a new one, she stripped to put it on. No modesty here, folks! And here's our family - all happy and full of cake!

Princesses Everywhere

2010-05-29T20:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure who was more excited on Zoe's birthday weekend - Zoe because she was going to see the princesses or Papa because he was going to bring his grandchildren to Disney.

Now Zoe had been to Disney before when she was 6 months old, but this was the first time that she actually knew what was going on. Her excitement was made greater with the knowledge that Papa knew the princesses and told them that Zoe was coming to visit. You'd think she'd won the lottery.

Here are some pictures of our exciting Disney adventure:

I am so using this when you are in high school

2010-05-12T21:31:00.003-05:00

Every child goes through a phase in which their parents embarrass them. Max and Zoe, I promise I won't do this on purpose. However, I will pull out this video and let you embarrass yourselves. Ha!

That's right - Zoe is "shaking her booty"! You can thank your father for this life lesson!

Goodnight noises everywhere

2010-05-10T20:10:00.001-05:00

Just like his sis, Max loves his nightly reading of Goodnight Moon. I have to admit, Mommy likes this nightly ritual too.

Dare you to smile!

2010-05-04T20:19:00.003-05:00

Max CRACKS me up! But not as much as Max cracks up when his Daddy gets him going. Seriously, Everett can get this boy is laugh - big belly laughs where his whole face lights up and you can tell he's thinking, "This is the funniest guy I have ever seen in my life!"

In addition to the laughing, Max is a kicker. His legs are always going! Don't believe me? Check out this video:

Gather the colony

2010-05-01T21:19:00.001-05:00

My university has a great library that is co-owned by Nova Southeastern University and Broward County. As such, they have a wonderful kids' section. Every week I go to the library and get out books for Zoe. She gives me a request ("Mommy, can you get me a monster book, please?") and I try my best to fulfill it. This is awesome because we're really missing the steady stream of books that we used to get in Nashville via the Imagination Library program.

When I don't have a specific request, I just try to pick books that I think sound interesting, and I've found a few really good ones. One in particular is The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. Zoe really took a liking to this one too. It's about a naked mole rat who likes to get dressed (surprisingly enough) and all other naked mole rats make fun of him. They decide to ask the grandpa naked mole rat what he thinks and he tells them to "Gather the colony! I will make a proclamation (about what he thinks about the whole getting dressed idea)!" It's cute, but what's even cuter is Zoe making a proclamation!

(Please pardon the appearance of our bedroom. We're still unpacking.)

Class pictures

2010-04-22T14:18:00.003-05:00

Easter

2010-04-14T20:03:00.001-05:00

One of the major advantages of living in the Sunshine State is being so close to family. For Easter we traveled north for a change to visit Granddaddy and Granny Gill in Live Oak and Grandma Gill in Lake City.

For the second year in a row, Zoe got to decorate Easter eggs with Granny. Zoe was very egg-cited (har har) to participate in this rite of passage - so much so that we had an accident before we even began! But after we cleaned up all the colored water from the counters, floor, chair, and Zoe, we were good to go! Granny tried to teach Zoe to slowly drop the egg in each cup with the colored water, but slowly isn't something that Zoe does well! We had a little splatter here and there, but most of the color did end up on the eggs.

The next day we had one of those huge Gill Family gatherings complete with bunny cakes, tons of smoked meat, and an Easter egg hunt. Granny had thoughtfully allocated part of the yard for the young kids and toddlers to hunt for Easter eggs (these were easier to find than the bigger kids' eggs). It turned out that it was only Zoe and her 1 year old cousin looking for eggs in the toddler section of the yard, and of course, Zoe was far superior in finding the eggs than her cousin. But instead of taking advantage of this, Zoe helped her younger cousin and whenever she found an egg, she'd put it in Carly's basket instead of her own. It was very cute to witness her selflessness. We actually had to convince her to keep some of her eggs and not give them all away!

We had fun seeing Great Grandma Gill. Max was especially glad because this was the first time they ever met.

On Easter morning, before we headed back to our own house, Zoe and Max found the baskets that the Easter Bunny had left for them. Max got a sippy cup and a pacifier while Zoe got a Curious George themed Easter basket. No chocolate here though. After all, Zoe still doesn't like chocolate - freak.

Beach in February

2010-02-23T14:54:00.000-06:00

We live less than 30 minutes and 20 miles from the coast. There's an awesome boardwalk along the beach that is just so much fun. We like to run along the sandy beach, putting our feet in the water, and then eating ice cream. There's also a splash park that Zoe just loves!

What's really interesting is that instead of everything being in Spanish, everything is in French! Who knew it, but Fort Lauderdale is the wintertime home for thousands of Québecois (people from Quebec, Canada), or "Floribécois".

Yes, I think we like it here.

I see you!

2010-02-22T15:00:00.001-06:00

Princess Zoeena

2010-02-20T14:38:00.000-06:00

No matter what you do, little girls like princesses. They like to dress like them, sing songs about them, and read about them.

My Dad used to tell my sisters and I stories about Princess Leanna, Princess Madelena, and Princes Tara-ini who lived with King Ron and Queen Rose. These princesses went on such fun adventures! There were dragons and faraway lands, and probably a prince or two.

Zoe is now at the age where princess stories are requested on an almost daily basis. So Princess Zoeena and Prince Maximo go on some pretty crazy adventures. Zoe likes to dictate to me the exact adventures that these two wacky siblings embark on and you can bet they include going to the "spooky forest" to see the mean witch and/or the flying dragon.

I've tried to weave Queen Leanne and King Everett in there once or twice, but it's been met with fierce opposition. But if I try to leave Prince Maximo out of the storyline, I get a strict talking to! "Mom! What about Prince Maximo?!" Zoe just loves her Maxi.

5 months

2010-02-18T14:05:00.007-06:00

I cannot believe that Max is 5 months old! Here he is on his belly for "tummy time". He is a neck-holding-up machine now! Whenever we put him down on his back, he does crunches lifting his head far up in the air. Whenever he's on his belly, he gets himself up on his arms and looks around. He can roll over onto his side, but not all the way over yet.

He smiles, giggles, and coos. He eats and drinks and pees and poos. He sleeps - not all night yet - but he sleeps pretty good. He pays attention to the world around him - especially if that world involves me clapping, his Dad making funny faces, or his sister singing loudly to him. He's starting to develop a personality. He's starting to become him.

Laughter

2010-02-03T20:34:00.003-06:00

Laughter is contagious,
And it's advantageous,
ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Numeros

2010-02-03T20:04:00.007-06:00

Zoe is a sponge. She is just soaking up knowledge. Before Christmas, she could count from 1 to 11 and always skipped 10. Tonight I listened as she counted up to something-teen. It went something like this: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-15-16-17-18-14!! Close enough! It really geeks me out when I see her learning stuff!

She's also learning Spanish! Some of it is learned from watching and listening to All Things Dora (and I am seriously digging her new Dora CD she got for Christmas - thanks Santa!). But her new school is very focused on bilingual education. Not surprising given that we're in South Florida and almost everyone here speaks Spanish, but they've really got it worked into the curriculum. Everything in the class is labeled in both English and Spanish (door/puerta) and they actually listen to some songs and books in Spanish. This is great because there's all sorts of research out there suggesting that learning a language early on is good. It also means that she'll be able to start to translate for me which will come in very handy here!

Chow time

2010-01-29T20:16:00.005-06:00

I cannot believe it, but it's time to start feeding Max something other than milk or formula. Rice cereal here we come!

So far he's "eaten" twice. The picture is from time #1, the video from time #2. Sure, most of the runny foodstuff ended up on his chin and the whole feeding experience lasted maybe 3 minutes each time (he was screaming in protest not more than 30 seconds after the video below was taken), but it's progress!

Now, if we can only get Zoe to eat something other than mac-n-cheese...

Take my picture Mommy!

2010-01-28T19:53:00.006-06:00

I think we've created a monster!

We took these pictures at Flamingo Gardens, located on Flamingo Road. We do live in Florida now after all!

This park is right up the road from us and is part wildlife sanctuary (lots of owls and reptiles) and part botanical garden (we learned that a banana tree is actually a plant!). They also have a white parrot named Zoe who says "Zoe" when you ask him "Who's pretty?" It's no Nashville Zoo (we really miss that place!), but it's a pretty good alternative!

Overheard

2010-01-27T15:21:00.002-06:00

On weekdays, I am in charge of getting myself, Zoe, and Max dressed, fed, and out the door no later than 8:15am. It actually isn't as bad as it seems. I can get most of myself ready while Everett is still home, and sometimes he's able to get Zoe or Max dressed and/or fed. But after Everett leaves, there's a lot of going between people in the morning accomplishing one task per person at a time. You know: change Max's diaper, brush Zoe's hair, brush my teeth, dress Max, etc. Well this morning, I put Max down in Zoe's room as I went across the upstairs to my room to put on my clothes (there's a lot of half-nakedness in the AM too!) and Max started crying. "Okay, buddy, I'm coming!" I yelled. As I walked back towards Zoe's room, Max's crying was replaced by Zoe's signing:

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,
Along was a spider,
Sat beside her,
Miss Muffet went away!"

She had laid down next to him to "snuggle". He loved it! I said, "Zoe he likes your singing!" And she says, squeezing Max, "I love you, Maxi!" Of course I melted and barely finished saying, "Oh how sweet!" when she followed up with, "I love you soooo much Maxi!"

I think this two kid thing is going to work out just fine!

18 weeks

2010-01-25T11:39:00.010-06:00

Dear Max,

If you're reading this, then it means your much older than you are right now - which is 18 weeks today! Yikes! Oh kid, I love ya. And you have to believe me - just because I have not meticulously kept track of your first 18 weeks of life like I did with your sister's, I love you just the same. It's just that things are much different than they were when your sister was this age.

For starters, we've moved to a new house in a new part of the country where we know no one. This has been hard since your Dad and I are the type of people who love interacting with people - people outside our grand family - and our community. We've been adjusting well, exploring the our new surroundings, and making the best of every day. And eventually, we'll meet new people, find new friends, and identify new routines, but in the meantime our every day routines are so topsy-turvey that it's hard to get settled.

Your Dad and I have new places of employment as well. True, your Dad re-located within his company to a new office, but it's still an adjustment. I have completely changed jobs and am now responsible for teaching 4 college classes. Promise me that when you get to college that you'll appreciate your professors! In addition to teaching, I have a myriad of other college responsibilities - the same as any job does - and the newness of this (or any) job is both exciting and tiring.

We're still unpacking the house and trying to get everything set up. Every weekend we unpack one more box and hang up one more picture. But your poor room has yet to be decorated. Not that it matters - you're still sleeping in our closet. We should probably move you in your own room, but I just can't do it yet. Maybe tonight. It's just that you're still not sleeping through the night. It's not too bad though. After you go to bed around 7pm, you wake at 11 pm, 3am, and then around 5 or 6 am. By then, we're up for the day anyway. I'm no longer nursing. This was a hard decision for me to make, but given everything it was the best decision to make.

You had your 4 month check up last week and you now weigh 13 pounds, 3 ounces and you're 26 inches long! Big boy! You smile like crazy whenever I see you and it makes me so happy to hear your gurgling and cooing. You love your big sister! Zoe loves to lay next to you and hold your hand. She also loves kissing and licking (?? I have no idea why) your head. "Oh little Maximo!" she exclaims often!

Max, we could not imagine our family without you. Our little sweet boy who has completed our family of four. I hold many memories close to my heart, and even if I don't put them down here, know that I cherish every minute that you've been in my life.

love,
Mom

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-17T20:14:00.000-06:00

You would never know it from our shorts and short-sleeve shirts in this picture, but it is actually Christmastime!

Everett brought me home the biggest tree I have ever had! It must be about 10 or 11 ft tall! It is so big that it requires 100 ft of garland, 6 strings of lights, countless ornaments, and a ladder to place Mr. Ho Ho Ho on top!

It actually took us several nights to get it all together. Zoe didn't quite know what to make of it! The first night, Everett didn't put the tree up until after Zoe went to bed. The next morning she exclaimed, "Mommy! A tree! hahahahaha!" Two nights after that, we put on the garland, lights, and the Santa tree topper after Zoe went to bed. That next morning: "Daddy! A Ho Ho on top! hahahaha!" She just thought it was the coolest thing!

That weekend we were treated with a visit from Granny and Granddaddy. They brought along some Christmas presents and Zoe was in Seventh Heaven! She tore open everything and had a blast! She would rip the wrapping paper off, then rip open the box the present came in, look at the gift, and then move on to the next one! No rest for the weary I guess!

Everett had his office Holiday party and so we left the kids with the grandparents and headed off to West Palm Beach for the shin dig. It was so nice to get dressed up and have some adult conversation!

The next day we finished the decorating of the tree. We gave Zoe a few of the unbreakable ornaments to place wherever she pleased. I gave her a fistful of these plastic candy canes and she would count them as she danced in a circle with them in her hand. Then she placed them on the tree - all on the same branch! She cracked me up! The candy canes that did not make it on the tree ended up in "Zoe's house" (a.k.a. the little storage area under the stairs) or in Zoe's turtle (a bike of hers with storage space under the seat). I have a feeling that we'll be finding candy canes all year long in this house!

I believe in commercialism

2009-12-10T19:47:00.000-06:00

What's Christmas without a little commercialism? Seriously though, shouldn't Zoe be the poster child for Macy's "Believe" campaign? She's so darn cute!

Okay, really for serious now, Christmas really is for the children. It's been fun this year explaining to Zoe all about the various Christmas traditions. I told her about Santa and about how kids write to him and ask him for presents. I also mentioned that she had to be a good girl to get them, but I think that message got lost somewhere! Maybe next year!

This year Zoe wrote her first letter to good ol' St. Nick. Well she dictated it to me and I wrote it down, but she decorated it! Her letter read:

Dear Santa,
I have been a good girl. Please can I have a pink toy?
Hugs and kisses,
Zoe

Please permit this Mommy a few observations. First, I did not tell her to say please when she asked Santa for something - yay for Mommy! Second, she asked for a "pink toy" all on her own - ick for Mommy! I am not fond of the color pink and have tried to introduce Zoe to a rainbow of colors, but somehow pink has wiggled its way into her favorites (along with yellow). I think little girls may be hard-wired to like pink. Oh well.

We took her letter to Macy's because they have a mailbox specifically for Santa letters. Macy's donates $1 per letter to the Make a Wish Foundation. I had thought their donation was based on weight - hence the heavy weight construction paper and the heavy puffy penguin stickers - but either way, our letter to Santa is going to do more than just guarantee a pink toy underneath the Christmas tree this year. And isn't that what Christmas is really all about?

Fish, fish, fish

2009-12-05T19:24:00.002-06:00

A pretty common site for me is what you see on the left there. That's what I see when I roll over in bed and look out the window. That's Everett fishing, in his pajamas, in the lake in our backyard (that metal roof you see covers our outdoor porch area).

Everett just could not be happier to be able to fish morning, noon, and night - literally! You don't believe me? Let me submit for your perusal...

MORNING (note the pajamas):

NOON (note the midday sun):

and NIGHT (note the darkness):

You can see from the picture above that Zoe is getting into fishing more and more now. That's a look of joy on her face, even if it doesn't look like it in the picture. She loves to "help Daddy fish" by helping him release the fish back into the water.

Not to be left out of the fun, Granddaddy Gill enjoyed some fishing when he came for a visit!

Now, I'm no fisherwoman, but I have never seen Everett so excited to fish! Evidently there are some different kinds of fish in the lake that he's never caught before now like the mayan chichlid (middle picture) and peacock bass (not pictured here because I haven't downloaded the pic yet), in addition to the good ol' large mouth bass (top and bottom pics).

Everett loves to show me his latest catch, which is fine and dandy with me - I love to see what he's caught - but the issue with this is that I'm usually in the living room as he brings his drippy prize to show me. All I can say is that he's lucky he's as cute as a kid in a toy store when he does this!

A few of our activities

2009-12-01T18:38:00.000-06:00

We have been busy exploring our surroundings!

Our house could not be in a better location in terms of shopping, parks, and restaurants. Here we are going to our first movie at a theater less than 2 miles from our house. It has stadium seating and there's a sign that says there's "childcare available". I think we may need to look into that option someday! This day we went for Zoe's first movie, well first movie that she actually watched in a theater. We saw Planet 51.

There are a ton of public parks within a 5 mile radius of our house. On this day, Zoe, Max, and I went to check out C.B. Smith Park. This place looks like it will be a lot of fun! There's a water park there, camping sites, any kind of court or field you can imagine for various sports (tennis, raquetball, baseball, etc), and you can rent paddle boats and canoes to take out on the lake located there. On this day we just stuck with the playground. It's amazing - even the playgrounds down here have beautiful palm trees surrounding them!

We've been having fun at home too. In the afternoon, we have "art project" time. Sometimes we make things with glitter and foam board, other times we color, and on this day we made sugar cookies! Mmmmm, cookies! Zoe was way more interested in eating the cookie frosting than the cookie itself! The cookie in the second picture was "a little girl" Zoe and I made from scratch. Who cares about the cookie cutter patterns!

Finally, there's a lot of downtime at home, hanging out with one another, singing, reading, and playing. Zoe just loves her little "bro" and constantly gives him kisses! I love watching them interact with one another. Just yesterday Zoe took Max's hands in hers and used them to sign "Patty Cake": "....and put it in the oven for Maxi and Mommy and Zoe!"

We're thankful

2009-11-26T18:42:00.002-06:00

We made it to Florida in more or less one piece! It was a long drive down I tell ya!

We packed up our duplex on Saturday with the help of 10 friends. Boy were we grateful for their help! My sister Tara flew in that morning and she, the two kiddos, and I began our journey after lunch. I figured nap time was a good way to start our car time and it worked out well. We made it about an hour past Chattanooga before we had to stop (about 3 hrs). We stopped a few more times, then called it a night somewhere in Georgia past Atlanta. Sunday we woke up and traveled to Lake City, FL to meet up with Grandma Gill for lunch and to burn off some energy running around the mall there in town. We made it to my parents' house that night where we slept hard all night long. Monday, after lunch, we began the last leg of our trip with the addition of my Dad. This was the shortest driving day, but it seemed like the longest. Max had had just about enough of this here car and he let us know! Let's just say that I'm not sure who was happier to arrive at our new home!

Everett had a different journey. His Dad flew in on Saturday morning and helped us pack up the truck. Then, around 1pm, the two of them drove straight through to Live Oak, FL where Granddaddy lives. The poor guy didn't even have to pack a bag! Then they got up bright and early on Sunday morning and headed down to the new house. By the time I arrived on Monday afternoon, these two guys had the truck unpacked and returned and the POD unloaded. Everett made sure that Zoe's room was all set up with her toys so she would feel instantly at home, which she did. He also set up the beds in all the rooms and had a good chunk of our other stuff put away, or at least had the boxes which contained said stuff in the proper rooms to be unpacked. He even had a picture of me and my friends up on my bedside table. Seeing my "Writing Mamas" made me smile.

Today, on Thanksgiving, I made our first meal in our new home: a roast beef, green beans, and the Gill Family recipe for sweet potato casserole. I think it's appropriate that our first home cooked meal here was also a meal of thanks. We have so much to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is Max, our health, our continued and new employment, and our beautiful new home.

After lunch, we drove around our new city and took it all in. I think we're going to like it here.

Goodbye Nashville

2009-11-21T18:44:00.003-06:00

Goodbye Zoo. Goodbye Fairytales Bookstore. Goodbye Nashville Shores. Goodbye Public Library.

Goodbye Vanderbilt. Goodbye Brown and Caldwell Nashville.

Goodbye Baptist Hospital. Goodbye Heritage Pediatrics. Goodbye Vanderbilt Daycare.

Goodbye Bellevue. Goodbye Music Row. Goodbye Sunnymeade. Goodbye Golf.

Goodbye Margot. Goodbye Union Station. Goodbye B & B. Goodbye Pied Piper Eatery.

Goodbye State Parks. Goodbye Chattanooga. Goodbye Land Between the Lakes. Goodbye Memphis. Goodbye Smokies.

Goodbye Nashville. Goodbye Friends. Goodbye Life As We Know It.

Hello Florida...

Goodbye Party

2009-11-14T18:49:00.006-06:00

We realize how good we have it here in Nashville. We have an awesome group of friends who are more family than friends.

Aaron, Doug, and Allison threw us a going away party. We had enough fun to last us a while. Words cannot really describe how much we're going to miss then all, so I'm going to let some of these pictures do it for me instead.

Here are Aaron and Doug, aka the Hosts, aka guys who always bring veggie and dip platters, aka our down the street neighbors, aka some of our dearest friends:

Zoe had a blast playing with all the other kids who made it to the party. I wish I had a picture of all my friends' kids, including the Writing Mamas' kids, because they all had so much fun playing together. This picture of Zoe dancing will have to do:
Amy and Dave, one of our favorite Nashville couples, and members of our wedding party:
Melanie and Derek. Derek's loud, Melanie's not and we love them just the way they are!
Our neighbor from Sunnymeade, Jen...or "Nini" as Zoe called her. She would take Zoe over to her house for flavored ice and play time with the dogs. We would love yelling "HI" in the mornings over the fence:
The guys: Everett, Doug, Will, Some Dude We Just Met, and Steve:
The Last Dance. The perfect way to end the evening. Zoe and Aaron:
Thanks for a wonderful party everyone!

How true

2009-11-08T21:13:00.003-06:00

"I don't have an off button."

Date night

2009-11-08T09:57:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure who had more fun on our date night- Zoe or us - but I do know that we all had a great night!

Zoe and Max were treated to a visit by my friend Jennifer who watched them as we headed out. Zoe was so happy to be with Miss "Jen-fer" who brought some moldable fun in the form of play dough!

We first had a few drinks at 3 Crow Bar at Five Points in East Nashville. This was the place where I met Bill who eventually introduced me to Everett. Afterwards, we headed across the street to "our" restaurant for the last time - Margot Cafe and Bar. We had our first date there just over 6 years ago. And now it also has the honor of being the place we went to on a last date in Nashville. What a difference 6 years makes! We've courted, married, bought a house, had a kid, sold a house, had another kid, and now we're moving out of state.

Can't imagine what the next 6 years will be like, but I know that with Everett by my side and the kids underfoot, that they'll be great!

First bottle

2009-11-05T20:50:00.009-06:00

Max got his first bottle tonight. Everett and I have a date on Saturday and in order to leave Max at home, he's going to need to get food from someone other than me. It actually took him a while to get the hang of it, but he finally gobbled it up.

You may be able to tell from the picture that I was crying as he drank. I tried not to. I wanted Max to feel good about taking the bottle, but I was having mixed feelings. You see, in the bottle is evil formula. Not really. I don't really think that formula is evil, but when you've been doing nothing but breastfeeding for 6.5 weeks, you feel a bit odd giving your child something seemingly artificial.

I don't think I'm going to nurse Max as long as I nursed Zoe. This is not a decision I came to lightly. I plan on nursing until at least the new year - he'll be just over 3 months at that time. I'll be going back to work then and the thought of pumping hurts me. I hope to continue to nurse at night and in the morning, but I think his lunchbox will be filled with formula-laden bottles. I know he'll be just fine, but this is one of the those decisions that make you question - unfairly - your commitment to motherhood.

It's already starting!

2009-11-04T20:35:00.002-06:00

Max is starting to react to the world around him - including smiling at Mommy! He's also started to pretend that he can't hear me. Yup, he's growing up more every day!

Zoe the baby

2009-11-03T20:30:00.009-06:00

"How's Zoe adjusting?" is a common question these days. The answer is, "Okay." She absolutely adores her little "brudder" and she loves being a great big sister like Dora and Benny the Bull and Isa (all characters from Dora's adventures).

The only catch to her being a big sister is that she's feeling the loss of being the one and only baby in the family. She lets us know this by reverting. She often cries for "up" and wants to lay on my shoulder - mostly when Max is in my arms. Sometimes she insists that I put a burp cloth on my shoulder before she lays her head down. And this picture was taken after Zoe requested that I wrap her up "like a baby". She likes to be swaddled almost as much as Max does!

When I indulge her and call her Mommy's little baby, she cries out, "Mommy, I'm a big girl!" This she says as she is laying on my shoulder on a burp cloth and swaddled. Oh well. She'll always be our baby, she just needs to be a little older to realize that. Until then, I'll "up" her as often as I can.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T12:29:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure who had more fun this Halloween - Zoe or Mommy! Although she went trick or treating last year to our neighbors' houses, this is the first time she went real trick or treating to strangers' houses.

I had no idea what time was kosher to start the fun, but we headed out just after 5 and before it got dark. Zoe was a champ at knocking on doors, and as long as it was a kid who answered, she would talk - sometimes saying "Trick or treat!", other times saying "Thank you!" or "Candy!" As soon as the treat landed in her pail, she would look at me a smile real big. I couldn't help but return the grin! But if it was an adult or an older kid dressed up, Zoe clammed right up and wouldn't do anything but smile. At one house, a kid answered the door dressed up in a "scary mask" and Zoe just ran behind me!

Here's a video of Zoe trick or treating at our house:

Now you would think that with her enthusiasm at getting a pumpkin full of candy, she would be insistent on eating every last plastic-wrapped delight until she passed out from a sugar high. But you would be wrong! I unwrapped a snickers to eat myself and she asked, "Mommy, what is?" I told her it was Mommy's favorite candy called snickers and offered her a bite. No lie - she said, and I quote, "Ew! Mommy I don't like chocolate!" That girl is not right!!

Later that night, we headed over to our friends' Halloween party. Max, ever the party animal, slept all night while Zoe ran around, ate her weight in cheese balls, and played pong with Daddy the Pirate. Always the teacher, I tell ya!

Grandma's here!

2009-10-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

Grandma "Gee-ill" came to give some sugar to her grandkids! Max loved to be held close and often to Grandma, Zoe loved doing crafts with her roommate, and since Everett was away on business for a week, Mommy appreciated the extra help and company.

Happy Fall!

2009-10-25T10:18:00.003-05:00

We headed to a local farm for some fall fun! Zoe had a blast walking, or rather running, through the corn maze! "Mommy, I'm hiding!"

They had the neatest thing: a corn box! It was kind of like a sand box, but with kernels of corn! The kids were going crazy in there, and Zoe was no exception! One older boy was throwing corn around (which was verboten, but he and his parents didn't care) and some got on Zoe. She just turned around and laughed in his direction. She's such a good-natured kid!

They also had a huge playground and duck racing thingie - that's the technical term! There were these plastic ducks and the kids had to pump the water down a tube to the other side where other children were there to send the ducks back. "Quack, quack, duckies! Quackie duckies!" Zoe got really into it!

Finally, they had a pumpkin patch where Zoe got to chose her own pumpkin! We taught her the cardinal rule of pumpkin-picking: get one with a stem. After we told her that, she kept pointing at pumpkins and saying, "That one has a stem. That's good!"

Max was a little less than impressed. He slept snuggled in the baby bjorn for most of the afternoon. Ah, to be young again and having a blast in a Corn Heaven or asleep nestled next to one's Daddy.

All my children

2009-10-23T10:01:00.002-05:00

Zoe loves to hold her "brudder Maximilwin":

Zoe says "cheese" and Max says, "waaaa!":

Zoe loves to play with Max:

My boys:

Happy One Month!

2009-10-21T21:04:00.006-05:00

Max's first month has come and gone! I really can't believe it! Four weeks goes amazingly fast when you are sleep deprived, are continually feeding a person from your person, and are taking care of an older sister who has become quite demanding of Mommy's time.

Max finally lost his belly button crud at 28 days and the next day he got his first bath. He kind of liked it. He got in and you could see his little wheels turning in his head, "Hmmm, I think I like this. Yes, warm water, Mommy washing me, warm water...oh wait, I'm awake and not crying. This doesn't seem right. Waaaaaaaaa!" Okay, Max doesn't constantly cry when he's awake, but he quickly realized that day that he shouldn't get too comfy in that bathtub! But I'm happy to say that he loves his bath now! He sits in there, cooing and looking alternatively in my eyes and out the window. The crying commences when I take him out of the warm-water-heaven.

The best part of bathtime for me is afterwards when he's all clean and dry and he smells so yummy that I have to remind myself that he's my son and not some gastric delight. He just looks around, content as can be, and we have Mommy and Max time. This consists of me gazing into his grayish blue eyes, smiling reflexively back at him, and telling him how much better my world is with him in it.

Welcome to the world, Max!

2009-10-17T20:52:00.011-05:00

Well we had a baby so it was time to celebrate! We had a party for Max to celebrate his entry into our world. We wanted to have it outdoors somewhere, but Saturday turned out to be cold and damp - not exactly ideal conditions for a newborn! So we moved the party indoors to a local pizza joint.

Zoe was a gracious hostess and spent the morning decorating a special cake for Max with sugar-based pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and "Boo" "cake-stickers" and orange and black sprinkles. She loved it and I loved making the cake with her!

As with Zoe's welcome party 2 years ago, we had a journal for people to give Max some advice to be given to him when he turns 16 in 2025. My goodness that seems so far away! And I just realized that I will be 50 then! Yikes! Okay, back to the present where I am not 50 and my son is not 16! Guests were given homemade chocolate cigars to take home with them - thanks to my Mom who helped me make them before Max made his arrival.

Now you must know - Max is a party animal! That boy slept the entire party! He squawked a few times, but never really woke up. I'm sure our guests would have liked the opportunity to hold him, but they undoubtedly should be grateful they didn't get to experience his cries!

I was glad we could have this party before we left Nashville to celebrate Max with our friends. We don't have much time left here in Nashville, and although I'm sure we'll keep in touch, we're going to miss being close to our friends here. Our friends are our family and we sure are going to miss them!

Family Movie Night

2009-10-16T20:37:00.005-05:00

Zoe doesn't watch a lot of TV - besides her few Dora DVDs - but on Friday we had our first Family Movie Night! We shut off all the lights, moved the couch to sit across from the TV, made some popcorn, and put in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Do you realize how old this movie is? It first aired in 1966! How many generations of children have watched this classic? Now we can add Zoe to the list!

She totally cracked me up watching the 22-minute Halloween-themed saga! She sat, rapt with attention, eating her popcorn out of her pumpkin pail not moving an inch! She was enchanted with Mr. Shultz's creation. I don't think she understood too much besides the fact that "that girl (aka Lucy) was not very nice"!

But the movie just helped fuel her love of all things pumpkin. She is very much into Halloween this year and I am just over the moon thinking about how much fun this whole holiday season is going to be with her!

Crawling on the ceiling

2009-10-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

Because why not?

Going with the flow

2009-10-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Max is doing great...or rather he's sleeping and not doing much else...which I guess is pretty great for both Mom and babe!

I'm not sure why that first picture is oriented upside down, but it may serve as today's lesson: just go with the flow, man! I love his little froggy legs!

Here's a video of Max being Max...enjoy!

Lucky stroller

2009-10-13T11:46:00.000-05:00

We headed to Oktoberfest in Germantown last weekend. It wasn't our first time there, but it will probably be our last beer festival in Nashville. So sad, but there will be other beer festivals...

Zoe was once again a hit with dancing:

And our stroller, complete with a sleeping baby, was once again the lucky recipient of two full beers in her cup holders:

Catch up

2009-10-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while since I've posted. What can I say? Things have been busy around here! Instead of posting a whole bunch of posts, there are a few dates and events that I'd like to record so how about I catch you all up on the last few weeks?

Mom left on Mango's due date, September 29th. You can see from the picture that Zoe was not too happy to see her Grandma go...and neither was her Mommy! The last night Mom was here was tough. Zoe kept waking up throughout the night crying for Mommy and Max decided to wake up a lot more frequently than I had been accustomed to so I was exhausted. I was sad to see Mom go, but it was time.

The next date that I want to remember is Friday, October 2. That was the day we had scheduled an induction to get Mango out if s/he hadn't made an appearance yet. Everett called me that morning to tell me that his Outlook had alerted him that we were going to have a baby that day! I don't think I would have opted for the induction though - I had an appointment scheduled for the following Monday.

The first weekend in October brought Granny and Granddaddy Gill! We had a great time visiting Bass Pro Shops, going fishing, and just hanging out watching Max and playing with Zoe. Granny brought a bunch of canned soups, veggies, and jams for our eating pleasure. So good! They also brought some presents for the kids. Zoe received a baby doll complete with a handmade blanket, as well as a talking book which she loves!

That weekend we also made an offer on a house - or tried to. When we put in our offer, we learned that the people selling had just accepted another offer so we lost that house. We currently have an offer in on a house that we previously had made an offer on but lost out to another buyer. Evidently, that deal fell through so the house came back on the market. Now we just wait and see. It's kind of nerve wracking not knowing where we'll be living in a month, but there's not much we can do about it. I have faith that all will work out in the end.

Overall, we're doing great. Zoe is loving being a big sister and loves her little "pop baby Max". We have no idea what a "pop baby" is, but we just go with it! Everett and I are learning to be parents to 2 kids on less sleep than we'd like, but we're having fun!

A long awaited meeting

2009-09-23T10:29:00.008-05:00

We had several people come visit us in the hospital. Max was very cooperative and let Doug, Dave, Amy, Melanie, and Derek hold him without crying. Will opted to look from afar!

Max's very first visitor was his Grandma. Mom dropped off Zoe at daycare and headed in to see her first grandson! You can see from the picture that she was beside herself with happiness! I was a bit sad that she couldn't be there at the time of his arrival, but Zoe needed her Grandma more than I did. We actually were about to call in the babysitter we had lined up for Zoe and have Grandma come in, but Max came so fast that we didn't have the chance!

Later that day, Zoe came for a visit! Talk about being excited! Daddy picked up Zoe from school and brought her in. He made sure she that she got a bracelet just like her Mommy, Daddy, and brother. It said, "Big Sister!" just like her shirt!

She opened the door to my room and ran over to my bed and jumped in with me. We talked for a bit about school and then we went to see her brother, "Max". She had a present for him (a rattle) and he had a present for her (prince and frog figurines). Ah, brother and sister getting along with a little bit of help from commercialism!

Zoe immediately took to Max. Her first words to/about him, "Oh my baby! So cute!" Then she played with his piggies and told him how they went "all the way home". There was also a little "coochie coochie coo" action going on. We caught a bit of the love on video. Enjoy!

A Nashville Welcome

2009-09-23T08:47:00.000-05:00

On the second morning of our hospital stay we were awakened by some lady who knocked on our door and asked us a very strange question.

"Good morning! Would you like to be visited by the Titans today?"

I thought maybe I misheard her. "Excuse me?"

"The Titans visit new mothers and babies once a month and today is the day. Would you like them to stop by this morning?"

I was really confused now. "The Tennessee Titans? The football team?"

"Yes ma'am. They'll be by between 10 and 11 if you're interested."

"Um, okay."

So 2 Tennessee Titans players came to visit Max and Mommy ... and Daddy and Grandma!

Everett was just about to leave the hospital to drop by work for a few hours when they arrived with an entourage of press. Keith Bulluck and Mike Rivera signed team photos and then paused for a few pictures.

So weird and so Nashville!

The video's kind of shaky, but it is what it is! Enjoy!

Oh boy!!

2009-09-22T13:22:00.000-05:00

After many months cooking in the oven, we are proud to announce that he's done!

Maximilian Boucher Gill arrived at 12:33 am on Monday, September 21, 2009 weighing 8 pounds 2.5 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches in length. Little Max has all 10 fingers and 10 toes accounted for and is perfect!

It started to get tricky around dinner time on Sunday night. All day long I was feeling kind of worn out and achy and I didn't have much of an appetite which was unusual for me. We had had a packed and tiring day with Zoe - who did not nap! - so I just figured that I was tired and achy from taking care of her. Luckily I was able to take a nap in the afternoon when Everett took Zoe to the park to burn off some energy.

I put Zoe to bed and came down for dinner. I wasn't hungry and was starting to experience some "gastro-intestinal" issues. I just felt like I had really bad gas pains. I tried going to the bathroom, but the pain did not stop. The pain wasn't coming in intervals though so I didn't think much of it...until I did.

We sat down to watch an episode of the West Wing and I moved from the soft couch to the more sturdy rocking chair thinking that the hard back would make me feel better. It did and then it didn't. I got up to walk around the kitchen and came back in the living room to stare into the concerned faces of Everett and my Mom. I tried to reassure them by alternating the phrases, "these are just gas pains" or "these are just practice contractions". They didn't seem appeased.

I finally told Everett to start counting - both the minutes between these suckers and their durations. I told him that these particular pains probably started at least 40 minutes ago. He looked more concerned.

After one painful "gas pain", I said that if I got another one, I would take a shower.

I took a shower.

After a second painful "gas pain", I said that if I got another one, I would call the doctor.

I called the doctor.

The doctor informed me those were probably not gas pains, but contractions. Duh! She said I could take my time, but that I should probably head to the hospital.

So we did. Everett and I packed a few last things and then piled into the car with the contractions about 6 minutes apart and lasting for anywhere between 30 and 60 seconds. Ouch. It was like clockwork though, those contractions. When we were in the car, I knew one would be coming because it was exactly 6 minutes from the last one. I had three contractions on the way in and each one felt like it got more intense than the previous one. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

We arrived at the hospital and attempted to check in, but no one was at th desk. HELLO? I'm in labor here! Everett went to find someone as I paced the hallways in pain. I had probably 4 more contractions before I was checked in. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.

They brought me to triage to determine if I was really in labor. They hooked me up to the contract-o-meter and got the baby hooked up to the monitor as well. I had a contraction (ouch) and all of a sudden 3 nurses came flooding into the room to join the nurse who was helping me. Evidently when I contracted, the baby's heart rate took a digger. This could indicate that the umbilical cord was choking my baby and would require an immediate c-section. This same thing happened with Zuzu. Oh no, please no. I was told to turn on my side and the next contraction (ouch) yeilded no change in the baby's heart rate. Thank goodness!

The nurse checked me and I was at 5 cm. That, along with the strong sense I was feeling to push led them to admit me formally as a delivering Mommy. Here we go!

They wheeled me across the hall and we got set up. I can't even remember how many more contractions I got (ouch, ouch, ouch infinity), but eventually I got the epidural placed. To be honest, I think the contractions hurt Everett more than they hurt me - I kind of squeezed his hand hard, plus he didn't like to see me in pain - but I was glad to have that sweet, sweet elixir!

At one point, Everett said, "You're contracting." Which I took as a question. I said, "I don't think so." And he replied, "No, you are contracting!" and he pointed at the contract-o-meter which was pinned at the top! Sweet, sweet elixir!

Then we played the waiting game. We took some pictures, watched Dirty Dancing on TV (it was on when we got there), and posted updates on Facebook.

Around 10:30 or so the doctor arrived and broke my water with the knitting hook tool. Gushhhh. Turns out, my water wasn't leaking at all!

Around midnight, I started pushing. I remember visualizing my baby's head traveling down the birth canal and that with every push he was getting closer to being in my arms. I vividly recall thinking, "I am going to push this child out now!" In fact, I told Everett that I was going to push him out on the next push.

The next contraction came and I was ready to push. As Everett counted to 10 the first time (I pushed 3 times per contraction), I pushed with all my might. I rested, took a deep breath, and started over again. Push!!! "Okay, one more time, you're doing great Mom!" the nurse said. Everett started counting for the third and final time, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..."

"Wait! Stop pushing! The baby's shoulder is stuck!" the doctor shouted.

I froze.

The doctor maneuvered the baby in some way to free the shoudler and then said, "Okay, push!"

I pushed with all my might and then I heard my baby for the very first time!

Everett declared, "It's a boy!"

I cried tears of joy as they placed that sweet little man upon my stomach, still attached to me, still wet, and still screaming. I bent down and touched his head and tried to kiss his head. My baby, my sweet Mango, my son.

Our son.

Welcome Max. Welcome to the family.

Good eats

2009-09-20T12:42:00.000-05:00

This weekend was spent eating well!

On Friday night we headed to one of my Mom's (and our) favorite pizza joint - M a fioz as! We ordered the Gill Special - a spinach, feta cheese, and sausage pizza (trust me, it's to die for!) and an onion pizza for dinner. And for dessert? Cannolis and chocolate mousse!! So! Very! Good! Zoe had her first taste of a cannoli after some prodding, but she wouldn't eat the tiny chocolate chips that resided within the rich ricotta-based filling. "I don't like chocolate." Sometimes I have serious doubts that this kid is actually mine!

On Saturday we headed downtown and walked along the riverfront exploring the train station and Fort Nashborough. They had forcasted rain, but it turned out to be a lovely day!

We headed to the Wild Horse Saloon for lunch afterwards and Zoe got a kick out of seeing the racing horses on the ceiling. After she was finished eating (mac-n-cheese of course!), she headed out to the dance floor to dance with about 7 random children who were bustin' a move out there as some local talent sang loudly upon the stage. I don't think Miss Zoe will have trouble making friends!!

I ordered the fried pickles, a Nashville favorite. I know it sounds kind of gross, but it's not. That's me, all big an preggers in the picture holding out fried pickles that were served in a guitar-shaped wire basket. Mmmmm, fried pickles!

That night, Everett and I headed out to celebrate our 4 yr wedding anniversary while Mom and Zoe stayed behind playing and reading stories. We decided to go to dinner and a movie which is one of our favorite nights out and one that isn't too common now that we have a toddler. We used to take Zoe to movies when she was a baby, but we fear now that it would be a disaster given her very short attention span! A few more years perhaps!

We ended up seeing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D! We laughed, we cried (I really did!), and we laughed some more. This movie was just what the doctor ordered! The 3D animation was pretty cool too! It wasn't the usual "Oh my goodness, here comes a yoyo at my face!" kind of 3D, just good ol' fashioned three-dimensional depth.

We ate at Dave and Busters for dinner. If you're not familiar with this establishment you should know that it's a very fancy, very romantic restaurant...complete with buffulo wings, a sports bar, bowling alley, skee ball, and video- and coin-games galore! So it might not be the fanciest of places, but Everett and I aren't exactly fancy people! We love to play the games and collect tickets for prizes! That night we scored over 1,000 tickets in about 25 minutes! Yes, we're that good...or at least lucky! We're saving up for the 2-sided blender. We figure we've got 2 kids who may like different kinds of fruit smoothies! We've got about 6,000 tickets and need another 3,000 more. I think we can do it!

On Sunday we ran a few errands. We stopped by the mall to ride the carousel. Zoe had a blast with Grandma. It constantly amazes me just how excited she can be with something so little! I hope she's just as excited about her little sibling!

False alarm

2009-09-18T15:22:00.011-05:00

We had a doctor appointment this Monday. I'm still 3 cm dilated, but 4 pounds up! I was a little concerned though because I wasn't sure if I was leaking amniotic fluid. They did a test and it was negative so we went home.

Fast forward to today...

These are pictures of me this morning in the hospital. I was still unsure about whether what I am experiencing is normal or is excessive fluid loss. I kept imaging Mango floating in less and less fluid in my uterus while becoming dried out like a wrinkly prune. How's that for visualization? But given that I had to be induced with Zoe due to a low amount of amniotic fluid in the ol' womb, I decided to play it safe and went and had everything checked out.

I went to the hospital myself and told Everett not to worry - and you know he didn't, right? I kept him informed via text messages all morning long. But I know he was on edge.

It took a while to get checked in to the hospital. They had no OB triage rooms so I was checked into an actual Labor and Delivery room, complete with the baby station set up to receive the newborn. That kind of freaked me out. I was just there to get checked out after all. I was not having a baby today, right? Right!?

They did 2 tests to check to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid. The first test came up "possible amniotic fluid leak". Excuse me? They took a sample for test #2 and said if that came back positive, they would induce me, and I would be giving birth within 24 hours. Excuse me?

I couldn't do much but lay there in the bed listening to Mango's steady heartbeat on the monitor and feeling his/her movements underneath my massive belly. So I did what I do: I fell asleep while awaiting the results from test #2.

I was awoken by the sound of the nurse entering the room. She said she called my doc - who was off today- twice. On the first call, the doc told the nurse that I was smart for coming in to get everything checked out and if that if I needed to be induced, she would come in for me. Can I tell you how much I love my doctor!! The second call was made after the test came back negative. No amniotic fluid leakage here! The doc said to relax, go home, monitor everything, come back if things change, and that she'd see me at next week's appointment.

"Whew." That was both my response out loud and Everett's response via text message at the news.

We want to see Mango, but today is just too soon. We'll be ready for the arrival whenever s/he comes, but goodness! Hmmm, due date's in 11 days. We better get ready soon!

(This last picture is a view of downtown Nashville from the L&D room today.)

Play it again

2009-09-17T14:56:00.003-05:00

We headed to the hospital tonight for a little Baby 101. We signed up for a refresher course on "Labor and Delivery" and were greeted with some graphic videos of childbirth and an annoying labor partner named "Jeff". He was this dude in the video who was very supportive for his partner, but Everett and I couldn't help but laugh at his demeanor.

"Yes, dear."

"You're doing great, dear."

"I love you, dear."

All said while he was wearing very nice khakis, a blue and white striped button up shirt (buttoned all the way up of course) and suspenders. Suspenders! He was quite a snappy dresser!! But he was saying all the things he should as his beloved pushed and shoved their little one out with no epidural! But something about it seemed silly this time around. Maybe it's because we've been there before, but the scenarios on the video all seemed contrived - even though they were real, documentary style videos.

I guess we were just recalling our own experience which was so different from all the couples showcased on the video. I know every birth experience is different, but it's one thing to say that and one thing to believe it.

One thing is certain however. Even though it wasn't very pretty, as soon as those little ones popped out of their Mommas and were delivered onto the Moms' now empty belly, I couldn't help but feel a wave of love and emotion flow through my whole body. My eyes teared, my breath quickened, and my grip on Everett's hands tightened. Because no matter how contrived these women's birth experiences seemed or how different they were from my first birth experience or how different my second birth experience is going to be, the end result is the same. And that is the beautiful commonality in all birth experiences.

Nailing it again

2009-09-16T16:03:00.001-05:00

As per my pregnancy tradition, Mom and I went and got our nails done! We went to the same beauty training school we went to two years ago, but this time the experience was a little different. The two students were very nice and very honest about how they "couldn't paint nails very well", "didn't like to touch feet", and how they "didn't want to be a beautician" because she was "going to be a bartender anyway." Hmmmm.

So our nails may not be salon quality, but we sure had fun!!

Mom's here!!

2009-09-13T16:15:00.001-05:00

My Mom arrived in Music City USA this Saturday and we sure are glad to have her! Everett left later on Saturday to look at houses in Florida and then had to leave again on Tuesday for business. So needless to say, we are happy she's here just in case Mango decides on an early arrival!

Zoe's been so dragon crazy since last week's Dragon Fest, so we headed to Dragon Park where Zoe met up with some of her friends from school. Mom got to see Zoe first-hand interacting with her peers and we had fun! She got to chase Zoe around the huge playground while I found places to sit and look on from a distance.

Zoe is having a ball with her Grandma and I'll be sure to post some pictures of this dynamic duo soon!

Silliness

2009-09-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm not just a Mom, you know. I'm a teddy bear.

Showered with paint

2009-09-11T21:01:00.010-05:00

So last night I was showered with paint and affection! Amy and Melanie, two of my very good friends, offered to throw a baby shower for Mango and I, but really we have everything we need so I suggested a Girl's Night Out theme instead and we had a blast! They set up a party at a local Paint Your Own Pottery studio and brought in some of my favorite foods - pizza and cake (made by the same lady who made our awesome wedding cake!) and beverages - wine and beer. Okay, I did not partake in the alcoholic delights, but I did manage to drink some soda...and then spill it on the table - there's one in every crowd you know!

I painted a garden gnome and I know every time I see it in our Floridian garden, I'll be reminded of what great friends I have back in Nashville.

I see you, Mango!

2009-09-08T21:10:00.013-05:00

Well we're at week 37 and as promised, we had another ultrasound today to determine the level of amniotic fluid in the ol' womb. I've posted pictures of the u/s because I didn't get a chance to scan in the actual files, but honestly, these look as good as it gets.

The vertical picture is a "Skeletor" impersonation. It looks as though there's a light source coming from the left and when you squint you can see the top of the homer-like head, hollow eyes, and nose slits. Cute, eh? But what's really cute is Mango's big cheeks! Just like Zuzu, this baby has big round cheeks that made the technician giggle at their size!

The horizontal picture is the profile. Again, if you squint you can see the forehead, the indent where the eyes are, and the protruding lips. Below all that (to the left) is a little arm and hand. Trust me, it's there.

So let's see, what else did we learn at the doctor's office today? Well let me give you some direct quotes from our doctor:

1. "You like to grow them big!" Excuse me? We got an estimated fetal weight from the u/s and today Mango is estimated to be 7 pounds, 7 ounces!! Zoe was 8 lbs, 2 oz at 4o weeks, 4 days. The doctor said that she thinks that if I go the full 40 weeks, Mango might be around 8 lbs, 6 oz or so!! So there doesn't seem to be an issue with the level of my fluid, otherwise Mango would not be so big! I guess this is good news!

2. "You are 3 cm dilated already, my dear!" Yikes!! Now this doesn't mean I'm going to give birth at any minute. I asked the doctor if that was an indication of when the baby might come, but she said all it means is that I have 3 cm less to go when I finally do go into labor.

3. "Better have your bags packed!" She doesn't think I'll go the full 40 weeks only because statistically second babies come sooner. She offered to schedule an induction for 2 weeks from today at 39 weeks (earliest the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will allow). I said no. I really want this baby to come out when s/he is ready, but goodness gracious I hope s/he comes out before s/he is a thousand pounds!

Next doctor appointment is next Monday! (Assuming my belly is still HUGE.)

There's a nest in my freezer

2009-09-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that we cooked this weekend too?

I made a double batch of tomato sauce (keep in mind that my single batch is a normal person's double batch) which included 42 meatballs, 15 sausages, and 4 large potatoes. I plan on making 3 pans of baked ziti to freeze along with the majority of the sauce and meat.

Everett made 9 loaf pans of Shepards Pie. The pies were made of ground beef, lentils, mushrooms, carrots, onions, tomatoes (fresh and sun-dried), jalapenos, a bunch of fresh and dried spices, mashed potatoes, and cheese. Mmmm, cheese. These 9 pans also made their way into the freezer.

You see, we're like squirrels stocking up for the long winter ahead.

Dragons and monkeys

2009-09-07T20:16:00.022-05:00

We had planned on spending our last three-day weekend as a three-person family visiting friends in Atlanta. When we called our doctor's office to ask if it was okay, the nurse pretty much said we were nuts to be thinking of driving 4 hours away and if we had to go, she could send along my prenatal records with us. Hmmmm, I guess we are 3.5 weeks away from "go time". The reality of the whole thing kind of hit us hard - we're going to have a baby!! (Again!!!)

So we spent the weekend in Nashville enjoying some of the local offerings. On Saturday night, we met some friends for a picnic and went to see some Chinese Dragons. Before the performance of Shakespeare in the Park (which we did not stay for), the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville Lion and Drum Team performed a Dragon/Lion/Drum Extravaganza Show - I don't think that was the official name of the show, but it should be! Zoe once again sat entranced by the live actors on stage. In between acts, she would look at Everett and I and say, "More dragons!"

At one point during the show, the dragons made their way down the aisle and Zoe was lucky enough to have Nick (the very sweet boy of my friend GiGi) bring her closer to the aisle to get up close and personal with the big crazy dragon beast. Everett and I were a little worried that Zoe would freak out being so close to the crazy white fluffy dragon (as all dragons should be, of course), but she loved it! Thank goodness for Nick! Afterwards, all Zoe kept talking about was "That boy who brought me to the dragons. He got hit in the head. What he name?" Poor Nick got a little love tap as the dragon left the area and Zoe couldn't stop talking about it!

Zoe also had fun playing with the other kids that were there. One little boy, a few weeks older than Zoe, had a truck. A yellow truck. And Zoe just couldn't stop talking about it. I seriously have no idea what it takes to get things stuck in her head, but the yellow truck made an impression.

Then there were the brothers. One was a baby who was "craw'ing" - that's crawling for those who can't understand Zoe-speak. The other was an almost three year old who got a little more than he bargained for when he came to give Zoe a kiss. He was a little shy at first, but Zoe just stepped right up and made it easy for him. Oh goodness, help us now!

Sunday we headed to Babies R US. I told you I needed newborn diapers! Too bad I bought number 1 diapers and not newborn ones! Oh well, they should be fine (you know I'm going to have to go back there!). We also stocked up on the infant meds. Not that Mango will ever get sick, you know?

Finally, on Monday we made it to the Zoo. We played in the gym area, rode the carousel (the monkey, once again), ate some lunch, and looked at a few animals all before naptime.

After such a jam-packed weekend, I am actually looking forward to sitting at my desk tomorrow!

Baby on the brain

2009-09-03T21:08:00.018-05:00

Seriously, they should not let a woman in my condition go near a Babies R Us when they are having a mega sale on all things tiny and newborn!

Our goal - okay, my goal - was to get a new coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit for Mango. After all, we have plenty of newborn clothes and things from when Zoe was a newborn herself so we don't need much. But we headed to the store, parked in the "Expectant Mother" parking space (Everett loves taking advantage of this!), and headed inside.

I was in there for maybe 2 minutes when I started oohing and aahing (and crying - darn hormones!) over the little bitty tiny clothes, shoes, and hats! I forgot just how itty bitty they are. Newborn arms are soooo short compared to their body so the arms on those clothes are just plain silly looking! About an hour and a carriage full of "deals" later, we left the store.

The bad news: I forgot to get newborn size diapers. I have none. I am going to have to go back. I have no choice. Oh well!

When we got home, I put everything in the washing machine. While my baby's clothes were being washed, I put together the baby items that I had washed the previous weekend: the baby car seat, the baby bouncer, the baby bjorn, the baby activity mat, the baby boppy pillow, and the baby crib sheet. I got out the baby mobile and baby mirror and put all the baby toys inside the baby crib.

Baby, baby, baby. I got baby on the brain!

After the clothes were washed, I folded each item with love. All I could picture was my little Mangos' arms, legs, and belly filling in the empty cotton garments. I imagined the hours I would spend starting at "Mommy's rock star" or my little "snuggle saurus" ensconced in those itty bitty clothes.

Sigh. Happy sigh.

The two pieces of clothing I did not put away were Mango's coming home outfit; those will be packed in the hospital bag along with the booties knitted by Everett's Grandmother.

Squeeze please. You don't have to ask me twice, Mango! I can't wait to get a hold of those chubby little newborn thighs!

End of summer fun

2009-09-02T20:45:00.002-05:00

With the passing of August comes the passing of what is traditionally referred to as summer. So sad! But you can see from smile on Zoe's face that she took the end of summer like she takes most things: in stride!

The flower she is wearing in her hair is from Mommy's "'garden" (technically a pot of flowers I bought at the start of the summer) and I get a kick out of it whenever Zoe says, "You grow these for me Mommy? Thanks!"

We spent the last weekend in August busy! Saturday morning we finally made it to the downtown public library for the marionette show. This month's show was Cinderella and I've never seen Zoe sit so still, rapt with attention, staring straight ahead, and taking it all in! She would periodically turn to me or Everett and say things like, "Her Mom is not nice!" or "I like the fairy!" or "She a princess!" She is still talking about it! I have to say that the production was quite good! A direct quote from Everett, "That's about a million times better than I thought it would be!"

On Saturday night we headed to Portland, TN to the Sumner Crest Winery for their 10th Annual Grape Stomping Festival. We got there a tad late to sign up for the actual grape stomping, but we were there in plenty of time to eat our packed picnic, sample some of their wine (well, Everett did mostly!), play games, and listen and dance to the live band.

Although I did my share of rug cutting, Zoe was the real Solid Gold Dancer of the evening. Don't believe me? Then you've never seen this girl in the presence of music!! Check out the video yourself:

Throwing away stem cells

2009-09-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

Before we found out we were "with child" with Mango, Everett and I had been planning a 10 day trip overseas. We had narrowed down the where to a tour around Spain with a short trek into Morocco. In fact, the weekend before we saw those two pink lines, we had gone to the bookstore and had almost bought the travel books (we love travel books!). But alas, a Spanish Invasion was not to be made by us this year.

So what were these two wanderlust-filled individuals to do with a growing belly betwixt them? We decided on a cruise! We figured that on a cruise we could go out and see foreign lands (albeit, very touristy-regions of foreign lands), but that all our stuff would be in one place. Plus there would be food available whenever I "needed" it and every night would be filled with shows and fun things to do. And when I got too tired, I could take the elevator to our room while Everett gambled our earnings away in the casino - uh I mean, while Everett invested in our future.

So we determined the best weeks to travel while knocked up and then searched the cruise website based on travel dates for places to go. We had been a cruise last year with my family to some the Eastern Caribbean ports, so we headed west and settled on a cruise that included stops at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico! I had never been to Mexico before (Everett went for his bachelor's party!) so I was excited to add another country to my list of places visited.

It was beautiful! Exactly what we needed! We danced, we swam, we ate, we connected, we had fun! One of our excursions from Costa Maya was to the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins near the Mexico-Belize border. That's one of them with us in the picture up top. That day was super hot and I took advantage of the many benches that littered our walk through the park and drank water and coconut juice like it was going out of style.

As far as I'm aware, I did not encounter even one mosquito on that trip. This is important because mosquitoes can carry the dreaded Malaria Disease. The CDC website does not consider this area big malaria risk, after all they do not even recommend people traveling to the area to get shots beforehand.

HOWEVER...
Evidently, it's a big enough risk that if you travel to this region, you are not allowed to give blood for a year. You know, just in case the malaria is hiding within your veins and is just waiting for the right time to strike you down.

WHICH MEANS...
I cannot donate my placenta like I wanted to and so all the potentially life-saving stem cells contained within it will be thrown away like last week's garbage.

This truly bums me out. On the one hand, I should be grateful that (1) I do not have malaria, and (2) screening methods for donated bodily fluids is strict. On the other hand, I have a precious resource that I must waste. I hate waste. I re-use and recycle everything I can. But sometimes your hands are tied and you must throw that plastic jug into the landfill where it will spend eternity languishing in the dirt for your children's children's children's children's children's children's children to excavate. Hmm, maybe I'm slightly over-analyzing things.

I guess the silver lining is that Everett and I had a wonderful trip together, and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything!

But if you know of anyone who is in need of some black-market stem cells, let me know! hahaha

My fear

2009-08-31T10:08:00.006-05:00

As I enter the last phase of my pregnancy and anxiously await the arrival of my newest little one, I am tinged with fear. Every day closer to the impending birth compels me to think about this more. Will it be as bad as before? Can I avoid it altogether this time? What can I do to prepare? No, I’m not talking about birthing my beautiful baby. I’m talking about being consumed by post-partum depression once again.

Yes, dear readers, once again. I know I never wrote about it before, but some of those whom I interacted with following the birth of my beautiful little girl know about this. I felt completely overwhelmed, guilty, and horrible. All I wanted to do was to leave Zoe in someone else’s arms and leave the room while at the same time all I wanted to do was hold and take care of my sweet baby. “I can do it!” I kept saying to myself. “I can do it all by myself!” But I couldn’t.

It didn’t help that I had few mommy friends to lean on for support when Zoe was born and that the few childless friends I did confide in either didn’t know what to say or said things like, “That would never happen to me. I’ve always wanted kids.” That’s a direct quote. Clearly she did not know me at all. I’ve wanted kids since I was one myself and this newfound sense of panic of becoming a Mom was too much for me to handle. As I sat there in silence listening to my heart breaking I did my best not to wish a horrible post-partum period for her if she were to ever get pregnant. I wouldn’t then, and I don’t now, wish that on anyone.

But post-partum depression does happen to quite a few women. In the sensationalist media, we hear about the extreme cases of post-partum depression where mothers harm their newborns, and sometimes even kill them. I never felt the impulse to harm myself or my baby. Ever. But I did feel a nagging sense of being an inadequate Mom to my child, a useless companion to my husband, and a very sad individual to be around.

I am a psychologist by training, and although I am not a clinical psychologist, I study the brain and how it makes us who we are. I know that depression is a medical condition that is caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. I know it is not a sign of weakness. I know you “cannot just snap out of it”. Clinical depression is not the same as feeling sad and requires medical intervention either in the form of talk therapy or anti-depressant drugs.

A person with depression is much like a person who suffers from any number of neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s Disease. No one tells Michael J. Fox to suck it up and deal with his tremors. Or that Muhammad Ali just needs to get a grip. Yet a person with depression is viewed differently by our society as it is sometimes perceived as a sign of weakness. People are not willing to admit their illness when it’s depression. Even knowing everything I know about the neural underpinnings of depression, I was still embarrassed to admit that I suffered from it following the birth of Zoe.

Not anymore. If someday Zoe and Mango do read this journal I call The Gill Family Webpage, I want them to know that their mother loved them very much, and that even though she seems like Superwoman, sometimes she was even human.

I eventually got over my depression through talking with friends who understood, surrounding myself with other new moms as much as possible even if I barely knew them, and leaning on the comfort of Everett. Of course, looking into Zoe’s face often helped too.

I’m not sure if I will be plagued by post-partum depression again, but this time I’m ready (if that’s even possible). I’ve talked to my doctor about safe anti-depressants for nursing moms and have a very strong network of mommy friends to lean on. It won’t be easy – it never is – but I’ll get by with a little help from my friends.

Only in NashVegas!

2009-08-23T20:22:00.002-05:00

This Saturday, Zoe and I spent a gloriously cool morning watching Everett row down the Cumberland River in the Dragon Boat Festival. Everett's "Strokes of Genius" team did pretty well for themselves! That's them in the boat closest to us in the picture.

While Daddy paddled, Zoe and I danced to the music and made faces at the people! Much different than Zoe's first Dragon Boat experience two years ago when all she did was wiggle on the ground! She was especially excited about the pirates who went around dressed up as, well, pirates handing out candy and saying "Arrrrgh!". Only the "man (who) gave me a ball" was more exciting!

We stayed until lunchtime, then Zoe and I headed out. We had to park a bit away from the river so we had fun exploring downtown. We went on the trolley, visited some of the tourist shops, took our picture with Elvis (who Zoe can recognize without a problem!), played near (not in) the fountain by the Symphony Center, and finally we visited the museum shop in the Country Music Hall of Fame. By the time we got home, we both took a 2 hour nap!

Movin' on down

2009-08-22T13:30:00.003-05:00

We went from the crib, to the Dora toddler bed, to the big bed, to ... the floor! I told you she was a freaky sleeper!

Honestly though, I think she was testing her limits when I asked her if she wanted to sleep on the Dora bed or the big bed and she replied, "Zoe want to sleep on the floor." At first I said no, then I thought, "Well why not?" So she sleeps on the floor most nights until we (and by we, I mean Everett) hefts her up onto one of the beds.

Hey man, whatever gets you through the night!

Fishing, feeding, and fun

2009-08-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

What fun can be had on a lazy summer afternoon!

Zoe woke up (last) Sunday and was obsessed with the idea of going fishing! I don't know where she got that from (perhaps from her Sponge Bob CD?), but she kept talking about how Zoe wanted to go fishing.

Well what's a fisherman Daddy supposed to say, but yes! So father and daughter headed out to the store early Sunday morning to buy a fishing pole and and some bobbers. I daresay that Daddy was impressed that Zoe chose the Sponge Bob pole over the Dora pole. Momma is just in shock! Afterwards, we headed to our favorite Zoe-friendly fishing hole/duck feeding place and had at it!

Truth be told, Daddy was way more into the actual fishing part than Zoe. You can't blame her though. Fishing is a contemplative sport and Zoe is a little too-Zoe to be contemplative for too long! But as soon as Daddy snagged a fish (using bread as bait once again!), she was all excited!

I know the picture makes her look scared of the fish, but we have a video that shows how fascinated she was by it. (I can't get it to upload, so you'll either have to believe me or come by the house to see it!) She was quiet, but I think it was because she was in awe at this tiny little creature in front of her. She reached out to touch it many times before we released it back into the wild.

As per tradition, Zoe also got to feed the duckies. She just loves doing that! We happened to be far away from any of them and despite Zoe's best efforts at calling them over by making kissy noises, she didn't actually get any bread to any fowl. She did manage to feed some of the fish because the absence of the above-mentioned birds was not going to stop this little girl from feeding them whether they liked it or not!

Later that night, as we were firing up the grill for the usual Sunday night grill fest, Daddy went fishing for Zoe:

The blues

2009-08-20T10:47:00.006-05:00

I can still recall the way they feel. Soft, yet sturdy. Snug, yet comfy. Stylish, yet casual. You know what I am talking about: good ol' fashion blue jeans.

I crave their presence against my long legs. The way they fit about the waist - the good pairs allow at least a finger's width between you and them and a belt, though unnecessary, completes the look. The way they fit around your mid-section, hugging your butt and defining its curves. The way they cling to your thighs and then release their hold around your knees flowing straight down to your ankles where they may or may not flair out.

What I wouldn't do to feel them right now on my body instead of my "belly bra" - a wide and uncomfortable white elastic band that helps support the weight of my ginormous belly - and my pregnancy bottoms. The skirts sail out about 15 ft from your body and the pants/shorts cover your entire mid-section up to your boobs. And these are the comfy clothing items. I find the preggy bottoms that sit under the belly to be the worst - they constantly feel as though they're going to fall down and they irritate the already itchy and stretched out skin that I cannot see anymore beneath the aforementioned ginormous belly.

Ah Mango, blue jeans are only the first of your Momma's comforts that she'll willingly give up for you.

Fetal invasion

2009-08-17T20:59:00.004-05:00

I can surely attest that I have something growing inside me! Mango is a mover and a shaker! There is a constant barrage of what I can only guess are punches, kicks, and big stretches coming at me (or in me) on an hourly basis! I'm not sure if Zuzu moved this much, but Mango sure does!

It's quite funny actually. I'll just be sitting there and BAM! I'll feel something push out simultaneously on my belly and backside. If I have a book propped on my "shelf", it will undulate with the force from within. If I am laying on my side, I can feel Mango knocking on my uterine walls as if to say, "Hello! I'm in here, you know!"

As of last night, I thought I had 5 more weeks of this. Then I looked at my calendar which clearly stated that I had 6 more weeks. Darn math! I made a similar mistake around week 35/36 with Zuzu. Mushy Mommy Brain strikes again!

The surprise "extra" week has left me feeling a bit farklempt. On the one hand, I have an extra week to get ready for the little one's arrival. We've set up the crib, gotten out some of the things that need to be washed (including the car seat cover), and have started organzing the baby clothes, but there's so much more to do! On the other hand, I have an extra week carrying this baby around and my back (not me, mind you!) has started to whine!

Of course, this all assumes that Mango will be on time. A mighty big assumption at that! Oh gosh, that makes me nervous too!

Hospital Visit

2009-08-15T20:38:00.011-05:00

This Saturday we visited the hospital where "Zoe was born" and where the "baby born". (For the record, according to Zoe, Elmo, her friends, Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Grandma, her cousins, and a plethora of other folk were born there too.)

They had a "Tots on Tour" class and Zoe got to learn all about what was in "mommy's uterus", how the baby's belly button looks weird after s/he is born, and how they have no teeth at first. We also got a tour of the labor and delivery room. Not that she'll be there for that part, but she got to see the big mommy bed and the little bed where the baby will be after s/he comes out of mommy's belly. They even showed her the hat they put on all the babes that are born there.

Direct quote from Everett while in the room, "I think I'm getting a little nervous now." Surprisingly, I didn't feel nervous at all, just a little miffed that the room was set up in the opposite way from the way it was when I gave birth to Zoe. The L&D bed was on the left instead on the right, while the baby bed was on the right instead of on the left. I know it's weird, but this pregnant lady needs things the way she needs them!

The tour ended with a visit to the nursery to see the new babies. Let me tell you - newborns are tiny! Now it was my turn to feel nervous!

The only one who never became nervous was Big Sister Zoe. She loved seeing the hospital, the new babies, and she especially loved the big sister t-shirt she received. I think she's going to do great!

Bring on the weddings!

2009-08-14T20:27:00.003-05:00

My sisters gave me a singing birthday card that plays the Chicken Dance Song...you know, na na na na na na na, etc, etc, etc. Zoe loves singing cards and this one was no exception! Couple that love with her love of dancing and you get the cutest little chicken ever made!

Hee hee, note that Everett is hiding behind the camera showing Zoe the dance moves - the iron tells all!

Thanks Daddy!

2009-08-12T16:23:00.005-05:00

Daddy: That's right Zoe...first you lick the yogurt melt and then you can stick it on your nose!

Zoe: Oh. (Pause. Lick. Stick. Big ol' grin.) Look at me Mommy!

Mommy: Awesome honey! Thanks Daddy!

Momma got belly

2009-08-11T16:15:00.004-05:00

My belly is steadily growing larger and larger! I had another doctor appointment this week and all is well! I can't believe that I have just 7 weeks to go!! I'll be getting one more ultrasound to be done in a few weeks to be on the safe side. Recall that I needed to be induced with Zuzu due to low fluid, so we're going to check things out in week 37. I'm sure everything will be fine; I'm not worried at all. It'll be neat to see Mango one more time before s/he makes her/his arrival!

It's starting to sink in that we'll have a newborn in the house again. A whole new person who will have his/her own personality and his/her own demands. But who will also be cute as a button, I'm sure! I'm starting to think about our children's and not just Zoe's future in Florida now. Where will the children go to daycare/school? Who will be their pediatrician? Will they like living in Florida? How will they adjust? It's exciting to think about!

Zoe is also getting excited about the baby...well as much as she understands what that even means! She likes to kiss and hug my belly and say, "Hi baby!" Oh, she has no clue!

I keep telling her that babies don't know how to do anything when they're born. They don't know how to talk, or walk, or crawl, or anything. I asked her if she would teach the baby these things and she readily said, "Yes, Mommy! I teach baby to "wok" (aka walk), and "craw" (aka crawl), and "shwear" (aka share)!" Yes, you read right, she said she would teach the baby to share completely on her own! I heard you Zoe - we all heard you! I'm going to hold you to this in a couple of months! Yup, that's the burden of an older sister - you'll be held to higher expectations than your younger sibling which won't seem fair to you at the time. But remember we love you just as much!

Home freeeeeeeeeee!

2009-08-10T15:16:00.003-05:00

FINALLY!

We closed on our house last Friday!! The top pics show us sitting in our realtor's office before the big sign-off. You can see we looked a little weary and were somewhat nervous that it might not happen at all! This process has been so much up and down that we could not feel settled until everything was signed and official! About 45 minutes later, we headed to a local coffee shop to use the giftcard our realtor had given us and to take advantage of their internet (we didn't have it yet at the new place). As we drank beer and coffee and gobbled up some sweet goodies, we perused the Florida houses that our FL realtor had put on-line for us. It was such a nice afternoon!

The next morning we headed to Nashville Shores for some swimming fun! It was probably one of the first really hot weekends we've seen so far this year - luckily for me! After naptime, we headed back out to the East Nashville Tomato Art Fest. We didn't stay there too long - it was HOT - but we did manage to stay long enough to soak up some tomato art, listen to groovy music, drink ginger- and blackberry-flavored lemonades, and eat some of the yummiest friend green tomatoes!

Now did I mention it was hot out? The original plan was to head downtown and just walk around, but the heat was unbearable! So we headed to what I like to call the indoor-outdoor play area, or the Opryland Hotel! There we made our own fun riding the train, playing in the arcade, riding up and down the "moving stairs", walking over the "troll bridge", and eating pizza overlooking the dancing fountains.

On Sunday I did chores while Everett went golfing. You may think this sounds unfair, but I encouraged him to go out! Zoe and I had a blast going to the "arts and craft store", "baby store", and "cat store" (aka Michaels, Babies R Us, and Pet Smart). As she napped in the afternoon, I did laundry, watched some TV, and did some of my own crafting. It was a nice, normal day not spent packing or moving anything!

At night, Everett fired up the grill and we feasted on 3 different animals and many vegetables! We like to grill out a lot at a time and then heat things up as the week goes on.

All in all, this was one of the best weekends we've had in a long while. It's just been so stressful with the packing of all our stuff, the moving to the new place, and the selling of our beloved first house (that's a post for later!). I know I can complain about a lot of things, but I do realize how lucky I am - how lucky we are - and it's weekends like this one that affirm that.

Bubble Races

2009-08-07T12:44:00.013-05:00

I remember when I was a kid, my sisters and I would race around our ginormous backyard after dinner to see who could run the the most laps. Inevitably, I would always win (wink, wink, nod, nod)! I used to think it was so much fun!

Now, looking back on it, I have to say that my parents were very clever beings tuckering out their children like that. We've taken a page out of their playbook and tonight we took Zoe outside to play with bubbles and to run around like a crazy kid after dinner. She was more than tuckered out after all the excitement!

Here's a video of her running after bubbles:

And here's a video of her running after...I don't know what, but it didn't really matter to her!

The BIG bed

2009-08-05T15:04:00.012-05:00

Here's Zoe passed out asleep on the "big bed" in her "new room" in the "new house". Note the emphasis on the big and new descriptors - very important as far as Zoe is concerned!
We had to put both the Dora toddler bed (which Zoe used to sleep in) and the double bed in Zoe's new room so my Mom would have someplace to sleep when she comes up for Mango's arrival.

One of the first nights in the new house I left Zoe to sleep in her Dora bed after our usual bedtime routine of bath, books, and bed. Then I went downstairs (the duplex has 2 levels - bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor and living room and kitchen on first floor). I thought I heard a thump about 45 minutes later so I went upstairs to investigate. I got to the top of the stairs and the first thing I heard was Zoe's "rock-n-roll" music blaring, then I noticed her light was on, and when I opened the door, there she was lying in the middle of the big bed reading her books, surrounded by her toys, and legs up in the air like she just didn't care. She looked at me, smiled, and said, "Hi Mommy" with the passy half out of her mouth. I cracked up!

Our general bedtime rule is that she doesn't necessarily have to go to sleep when she's left alone, but that the lights need to be out. So I had to be a disciplinarian. I took the light out of her room and told her it was night-night time. She didn't like that too much, but she eventually went to sleep after I told her she could sleep on the big bed if she wanted to. And she's slept there ever since! Sometimes she'll move to the Dora bed, but it's not very often.

It just totally cracks me up to see this little thing asleep on this massive bed! Truth be told, I like it better since I can easily sit on the bed and give her a kiss goodnight instead of having to bend down to do it. And although I get a little teary-eyed thinking about how fast she's growing, I enjoy her company more and more every day.

Capturing the river

2009-08-04T09:49:00.011-05:00

You know, sometimes things just seem worse than they are. And sometimes they are worse then they seem. It's tough to tell the difference between the two.

I wrote the previous post a few days after the weekend. It was with perspective that I was able to get re-live that weekend. I hate to say it, but the weekend left me more devastated than I was able to capture with my words. We are all fine now, it's just that that weekend was a tough one.

Although I wasn't keeping a blog at the time, if I were to write about my wedding day now, it would sound lovely. There were the most beautiful words that were spoken and songs that were song, there were delicious foods and drinks that were consumed, and of course there was the incredible sense of love for everyone that attended (especially my groom!) that was felt throughout the day. But I'm not sure I could truly capture the wonderfulness of that day with my words either.

It's not that I think I'm a bad writer and so cannot capture certain feelings through prose. I think I do a pretty okay job conveying some of my emotions, as best as I can anyway. But there's something about living in the moment and feeling the feelings as they are happening. One's ability to recall those feelings - which cannot be described in words precisely because they are feelings - is something that makes us uniquely human.

So I try to capture the feelings as best as I can here to serve as triggers so that I may try to re-live the experience again - with the good feelings and the bad - and with the caveat that one can never step into the same river twice. After all, one cannot truly appreciate the sunny days if it never rains.

Ugh

2009-07-30T14:07:00.010-05:00

We moved into our new temporary home this weekend. I promise pictures when I find the camera and have unpacked the last few boxes.

Overall, the move went smoothly (in theory). A friend came by on Saturday AM and we loaded up the POD with some of the bigger furniture items that we needed to pack away. A co-worker of mine came by afterwards to pick up a few items that we would not be moving (a chair, lamp, rug, etc). Everett mowed the lawn for one of the last times and Zoe and I were busy at the playground or packing boxes inside.

On Sunday, three more friends came over to help us move. They looked kinda mad when they got there and I started to feel bad about asking them to come help us move early (not early for us, but these are single guys!) on Sunday. Turns out they were all nursing hangovers and didn't feel their best! But I'll tell you what - you know who your friends are on occassions like this because none of them complained a lick while they hauled heavy boxes, bed frames, and furniture out to the U-Haul. I'm gonna really miss these guys! Around 4pm, we had all our belongings in the duplex and had returned the U-Haul. All that remained in the house was the little stuff - mainly kitchen goods (food, utensils, pots/pans, etc) and some things that needed to be packed away downstairs (camping supplies, tools, bed linens).

All sounds good, right? Please indulge me while I bring up the other side of the move. Did I mention that Everett and I were sick as dogs from about Friday on? Zoe was sick last week and was diagnosed with an ear infection on Thursday. She seemed to have recovered fine, but Mom and Dad were ill. I think all the dust that had been kicked up during the move decided to come and congest us. And the congestion stayed. Of course, all the moving and lifting and packing did not make us feel any better.

Add to this the fact that Zoe started to really "act her age". She's two, remember? And terrible she was! She kicked me, hit me, pulled my hair, yanked my glasses, and said NO to me more times than I think she ever has! She cried and whined for no reason and did not listen a lick to what Mommy was saying. And she refused to nap. Awesome! By Sunday night, my belly was straining and I couldn't take it anymore. This was the worst Mommy Weekend I have ever had! I felt horrible! I didn't have the energy to deal with her so instead of re-phrasing things to sound more positive ("Please don't hit Mommy, that hurts" versus "STOP IT! NO!") or re-directing her attention ("Look! There's Dora - go play with her!"), all I could do was say NO myself and plead with her to be nice to mommy. While Everett gave her her bath on Sunday night, I just collapsed on the couch, clutching my aching belly, and cried. I felt like I failed my daughter by being mean and losing my temper. I hated that. And still, 4 days later, I still feel as awful as I did on Sunday when I think about it.

Later that night, after Zoe had gone to bed, I crept into her room. She was asleep on the "big bed" (a double bed, not her Dora bed) and she looked so precious laying there on her belly with the passy half out of her mouth and her little arms and hands tucked underneath her raised butt that I couldn't help but smile, run my fingers through her blonde locks, and give her a kissy-kissy on her chubby little cheek.

Things are better today than they were this past weekend. Everett turned the corner yesterday and today I can say that I feel better than I have in a week. Zoe has abandoned the devil child that took residence inside her and is starting to act more normally. She's not all "Yes, Mommy whatever you say", but she's not a raging brat either. She's just acting like a normal 2 year old testing her limits for sure, but knowing where to draw the line. We will not be closing on our house tomorrow as originally planned, but we're hopeful that it will happen next week sometime.

And so we wait.

Moving my nest

2009-07-21T13:27:00.011-05:00

It seems like only yesterday we were getting the nursery ready for Zuzu. My nesting instinct hit hard, especially in the last trimester, and I did almost nothing at night, but sit in the nursery, cleaning and organizing, and decorating. When I wasn't doing those things, I would sit in the glider in the nursery, rubbing my belly, humming some tune, and day dream about what life would be like when my little babushka made his/her arrival.

Fast forward to this pregnancy's last trimester: I have no nursery in which to make a nest! I am actually deconstructing my first baby's nursery. I've been packing up box after box with toys, books, CDs, and clothes. These boxes are slowly making their way from the house to the POD sitting in our driveway. Bye bye nursery.

It's not as though we're not making preparations for Mango though. I've got bags and boxes packed for him/her which will find their way to the duplex we've rented until the Fall. I have bought some clothing items (I just can't pass up those cute little baby clothes!), but most are in the 6 month plus range. We saved so many items from Zoe's first few months that I think we'll be set for at least a few months after Mango arrives whether he's a he or she's a she!

What's more, we're not packing my paints. As in, they'll be moving to the duplex with us so that we can all paint Mango his/her own Mom and Dad paintings like we did for Zuzu. The new nursery theme will be "Under the Sea". Very original, I know! But we like fishing and going to aquariums and the like, so we figured it would be perfect. We even got Mango a fish mobile while we vacationed in Mexico a few months back. I think s/he will love it!

Finally, as proof that while I may not have an actual nest, I still have a nesting instinct, check out the photo of the boxes. What you see is 1/10th of the number of empty boxes we have in the house right now. I have been collecting them for the last 2 months from work and other places in anticipation for the move. I have a problem though: I can't stop collecting them! Since I can't really lift anything heavy (although I do sometimes) it's my way of helping our family move. Everett finally told me, "No more boxes!" (very politely of course), but I can't help it. Don't tell him, but I have two more big boxes sitting in my office as I type this!

So Mango, know that even if we are not able to prepare a physical nursery for you before your arrival into this world, we have been planning a mental nursery for you for a long time. We love you and can't wait to meet you!

Gotta gooooooooooo!!!

2009-07-16T10:03:00.008-05:00

83 steps. That's about how many it takes to go from my office to the ladies' room all the way at the other end of the hall. The pictures barely do the hike justice! And with an average of a billion (1,000,000,000) trips a day to the Land of the Self-Flushing Toilets, that's a lot of steps!

120 stairs. That's how many there are between my office and the 6th floor lab where I collect my eye movement data. I used to take the stairs most of the time between the 2 destinations, but it just kills me now to walk up even one flight of stairs.

75 days. That's how many days until Mango's appearance (assuming s/he comes on time!) and also the number of days I have left working at Vanderbilt (well, minus weekends). I have mixed emotions about that right now - I've been here for almost 6 years! For now, let's just say I'm looking forward to seeing my Maginator in about 10 1/2 weeks!

Happy (belated) Father's Day!

2009-07-14T10:48:00.023-05:00

I know, I know, I'm about a month off, but that's life. We were actually away from the bambina on Father's Day as she spent it with her Grandma and Papa while Everett and I were checking out South Florida, our soon-to-be new home. But just because the designated day for honoring one's father has passed, it doesn't mean I can't honor the father of my children today!

This year, I wanted to thank Everett for all the things he's taught Zoe so far. After all, along with loving and providing for his children, teaching them things is one of a father's greatest gifts to his children. So in no particular order, here are some things that you've taught Zoe:

1. Being polite is not overrated. Zoe has learned to say not only "please" and "thank you", but we've been teaching her that demanding "Milk PLEEEEASE!!!" is not the right way either. Slowly but surely, she's learning that the full phrase goes something like, "May I please have some milk?" which usually comes out as, "Zoe have milk please?" Everett's real good about reminding her that it's not nice to shout out one's demands.

2. There are many genres of music out there that are appropriate in different contexts. You see, in Daddy's car, they listen to "Gansta Rap" (thanks XM radio), and this genre of music is not the same type of music as reggae. Just try switching the station on this child! In Mommy's car, we listen to "Mommy's music" (usually country) or "Spongebob", aka "Zoe's music". Under no circumstances is NPR "music" so don't even try it! I think it's funny that when Zoe gets on her little bike now she "turns on her radio" to Spongebob.

3. Food is fun. Daddy imparted Zoe with the knowledge that yogurt melts can actually stick on your nose if you lick them first. Um, thanks for this one, Daddio!

4. Give Mommy hugs and kisses when she's sad. So I'm pregnant, right? Which means anything can set me off crying - a story in the newspaper, a book, a commercial, my thinking about our uncertain future, anything! When I start to get teary-eyed, Daddy sends Zoe over to give me a big hug and kiss. Sometimes that makes me cry more, but it's worth it!

5. Breakdancing. This is a recent skill that Daddy has passed on. He taught her "The Arm Wave" - the one where you start moving one arm and then the other as though a fluid wave has moved through them. She'll be ready for the dance clubs before we're ready for her going to them!

6. 360 is the number of degrees in an entire rotation. One of the favorite Daddy-daughter bonding moments that always make me cringe a little is "Whomping Time". Zoe looks at her Daddy with a little gleam in her eyes and says, "whomp time Daddy?" Trust me, it sounds worse that it actually is, but it involves Zoe being swung by her ankles upside down and then "whomped" down onto the couch in a fit of giggles. There are two versions of the whomp: the 360 version and the tick tock version. In the first one, Zoe gets swung completely around, and in the second one, she's swung back and forth like a pendulum. If there's a mirror around for her to watch herself being propelled through the air, then it's extra giggle-inducing. Give me strength!

There are the other usual lessons too, like what these things called letters are for and that lima beans and brussle sprouts are yummy, but I thought I'd point out a few of the more unusual lessons. Thanks for being unusual Everett! Happy Father's Day!

How sweet it ain't

2009-07-08T10:10:00.018-05:00

So last week we had our 6th doctor's appointment of this pregnancy. We were at week 27 (now at week 28) so it meant I had to do the routine screening test for gestational diabetes. I got to drink the super sweet and nasty orange drink and then get my blood drawn an hour later to see what my blood sugar content was like. All else went well with the visit and as we were leaving we even took a pregnant picture outside the office. You can see I'm getting BIG. Our doctor was the third person in less than two days who exclaimed that I was "really popping out now"!

While they were drawing blood for the diabetes test, they made sure to draw enough for a test to see if I had contracted Fifth Disease. This is an infection that kids get and it turns out that someone in Zoe's daycare had it so they cautioned all expecting mothers to alert their doctors about the possible exposure. This disease can be really nasty if a pregnant women contracts it - especially if she does so early on in her pregnancy. Even though I was well past the "early on" stage, I was worried that I may have it and that bad things were happening in my uterus. Like I needed to worry more, right?

Well the doctor's office called a few days after the test and the nurse told me she had some possibly bad news. I panicked. I immediately thought I had tested positive for that horrible disease. My mind raced as I thought back to everything I had read about it and its impact on my unborn child. I was taken aback when she said that while I did not test positive for Fifth Disease, I had failed my glucose monitoring test "in a big way". I could have gestational diabetes she said, but we needed to do a follow up test to be sure. She again told me not to worry (yeah right) as she gave me instructions to "carb load" over the weekend and show up Monday morning having fasted that morning for more blood tests.

So I spent all of Monday morning alternating between being poked with a needle (4 separate draws an hour apart), reading a very good, but depressing, book, playing Sudoku on my iPhone, and attempting to stay awake. Good times people, good times. But it all paid off! I heard this morning that I do not have gestational diabetes!! I am so relieved! This pregnancy has been full of false alarms - more than we encountered with Zuzu's incubation. I am just hoping we won't have any more issues to worry about!

Mango, be good in there! I'm trying my best to be a good and healthy vessle for your journey. I can't wait to see you and tell you how wonderful it was to spend so much time in close proximity to you, my little munchkin.

Um, did we tell you?

2009-06-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

So we have some news...we're pregnant! Oh wait, we already told you that. I guess what I've forgotten to mention over these past few months, is that we're moving! And not just across town, we're moving to Florida folks! Land of Strip Malls, Disney, white sand beaches, and the grandparents! We'll be living between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, in a house yet to be determined located in a city yet to be determined (but narrowed down to a few cities). So we won't be exactly down the road from the granparents, but at least we'll be in the same state.

We're planning on Everett transferring to the Miami office of his current company and I've been offered a faculty position at Nova Southeastern University. That's right - you can call me Professor now! I've been working towards this position since the spring of 1995, so you can see how excited I am that it's actually going to be my reality!

(Side note: the spring of 1995 was when I enrolled in Professor Hershenson's Perception class. In his lecture on motion perception, he showed us an illusion called the "motion aftereffect". You have probably experienced this yourself - look at something moving in one direction for a long period of time, then shift your gaze to a stationary scene and you will experience illusory motion in the opposite direction. Sometimes this is called the "waterfall illusion" because after you stare at the downward motion of a waterfall for some time and shift your gaze to the stationary land to the side of the waterfall, the land appears to move upwards. You can see a demo here to experience it yourself. Anyway, the professor showed us a contracting stimulus and then told us to look at his bald head. When we did, we all had the experience that his head was expanding right there in front of us! I couldn't help but think, "Wow, that is so cool. I want to understand why stuff like that happens for a living." That's when I decided I wanted to be a professor.)

We traveled down to Florida over Father's Day Weekend to check out the area. Zoe stayed with Grandma and Papa in Orlando and Everett and I met with a realtor on Saturday who showed us around 4 cities. We saw 9 houses in just about 4 hours. I'm still tired thinking about it! We saw some houses that were possibilities, but since we're not planning on leaving Nashville for a few months, we weren't looking too seriously. The point was for us to get to know the area, and for the realtor to get to know us and what we are looking for. In that respect, the trip was a success!

On Sunday, we traveled south to Miami to check out Everett's new workplace and city. As you can see from the pictures, Miami is a horrible place! The beaches are dirty and the streets are crowded and uninteresting. Yeah right! Our friend Bill (who also introduced us almost 6 years ago) showed us around. We spent the morning on South Beach, then headed into town to Espanola Way for some yummy lunch. Afterwards we walked the Lincoln Road mall, a pedestrian shopping/eating area. We had a great time and just kept thinking, "we're going to live here - how cool!"

I know what you're thinking - or what you would be thinking if you were us. By January, we need to sell our house, move, buy a house, birth a baby, and get ready for our new jobs (I will be teaching 4 classes starting in January, only one of which I have already taught). That's a lot going on in the ol' Gill Household! As of today, we have a buyer for our house, although we're still waiting for the last hurdle to be jumped. If all goes well, we close on July 31st! That means we'll need to find temporary housing until November when we plan on moving down to the Sunshine State. I have no idea where we'll be living from Aug-Nov right now, but I know it will be with my family. For now, that knowledge is enough not to send this Momma off her rocker...although I'm teetering!

Weighty issues

2009-06-19T13:18:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of joining a first-time Mom in her first-ever visit to a maternity store last weekend. She had hit week 14ish and was ready to try on some "better fitting" clothes. I remember the first time I donned a maternity outfit. Those pants with the HUGE wide elastic bands and those shirts with an inordinate amount of material about the belly region really made me laugh! Surely, I would never be able to actually fit into these monstrosities! But fit I did. I even outgrew some of my maternity clothes in the end! I kept all of the clothes, and luckily I did because here I am in need of their services once again!

I think a few funny maternity clothes stories are in order. First up: my soft gray work pants with the adjustable waist line. These are awesome! They have a hidden elastic inside the waistline of the pants that adjusts with you as you grow - you just button up a few notches to cinch the belt to make it tighter and then let a few notches out to make it bigger. (Turns out they make kids' pants like this too - brilliant!) Last week, I headed to the ladies' room one more time just before I got to class for a lecture on olfaction (smell perception - you would have loved it GiGi!). As I left the stall I noticed that no matter how high I hiked up my pants, they were staying pretty loose! Somehow the elastic decided it would play hide-n-seek on me and escaped into the confines of my pants! I didn't know what to do - I had 2 minutes to get to class and get set up and there was no way that I could take the 5 minutes or so to slowly work the rogue elastic out of my waistband and re-fasten it to the sides of the pants. So I did all I could do - I quickly went back to my office and got a huge binder clip and clipped the sides of my pants together! I did it on both sides for good measure. Then I proceeded to class. All was fine until I sat down. The clip on the left side popped off as soon as I sat down! Luckily, I don't think anyone noticed!

My second story isn't really ha-ha-funny, but is more huh-that's-weird funny. At the end of my pregnancy with Zuzu, I bought a fun spring/summer skirt with bright orange and yellow flowers. It was one of my favorite preggy skirts. I thought I was crazy buying the x-large size at the time (I had been buying the regular ol' large size), but I was HUGE in my 9th month and the XL fit best and I bought it and I didn't care about the size label. Well I went to wear this skirt the other day and it practically fell off me! What's weird about the whole thing is that I'm pretty darn big now and the experience of putting on that skirt reminded me that in 3 short months time, I am going to grow exponentially!

Pregnant women obsess about their weight - I think it's because within a short time frame a women can gain a tremendous amount of weight! In the 40 weeks of being preggers with Zuzu, I got 19% bigger in terms of my weight! Sure, Zoe accounted for at least half of my weight gain, but still!

According to one website, here's where my weight gain will come from (in percentage of weight gained) with Mango - assuming s/he is tinier than Zoe was - they assume a fetus a full 10 ounces less than what Zoe weighed at birth!

Maternal
Uterus		7%
Breasts		3%
Blood		9%
Water		12%
Fat		23%
Subtotal		53%

Fetal
Fetus		38%
Placenta		4%
AmnioticFluid		5%
Subtotal		47%

Like I really needed the 3% bigger boobs! Oh well.

Rebel with a cause

2009-06-18T16:44:00.002-05:00

Watch out! Here comes Zoe! You can see that her Daddy and good ol' "Uncle" Aaron have been superb influences on her!

Season Pass for fun!

2009-06-15T12:29:00.002-05:00

Thanks to a couple of our good friends, we now have season passes to Nashville Shores, Nashville's neat-o water theme park on Percy Priest Lake! Zoe loved playing in the 1 foot deep kiddie pool with her rubber duckie and Mommy (although to be honest, I think the Mommy part was optional for her!) and Everett had fun going down the water slides - especially the Music City Racer slide. The food there wasn't all that great - save for the Blue Bell mocha almond fudge ice cream - but now we know! We stayed for a few hours and then went home for naptime. It was a very nice way to spend the day indeed!

The girl's got gills!

2009-06-11T20:22:00.005-05:00

Last week Zoe was treated to her first fishing expedition! We headed to Shelby Bottoms Park for the 7th Annual Catfish Rodeo. We got there at the tail of end of the event, but enjoyed our time fishing and feeding the ducks.

Everett was in 7th Heaven at finally being able to take his offspring fishing. In fact, I think he had just a tad more fun that Zoe did...and Zoe had a ton of fun! She really got a kick out of feeding all the ducks and birds (check out the video below). She kept telling them, "Come here little one! Come here!" Then she saw a pigeon and when I told her that her buddy Bert had a pet pigeon, I thought she might just explode with excitement! She then started to follow the poor pigeon trying to force feed it a slice a bread. It was quite entertaining!

But then the real excitement began! Daddy had somehow snagged a tiny brim with a kid-sized fishing pole and a smushed up piece of bread. I shouldn't have been surprised though - I've seen that guy catch a fish with nothing but a ziplock bag! Anyway, Daddy called Zoe over to reel in the fish. When it finally emerged from the water, Zoe looked at it as though she didn't know what it was. She was kind of smiling and kind of frowning. When Daddy took the fish off the hook to release it, she wanted to touch it before it went back in the water. She extended her pointer finger as far as she could away from her hand and squealed with delight as her skin made contact with the scaly beast. Then, as quickly as the fish arrived in her sight, it disappeared back into the great abyss. "Where'd the fishy go?" was all Zoe could say!

I have a(nother) BABY in my belly!

2009-06-09T15:49:00.016-05:00

No, we're not having twins, the title of the post is in reference to the title of the post of Zuzu's complimentary profile picture back in Jan of 2007. For some reason, I have had that title stuck in my head forever. Whenever I think of the life within - either when Zuzu was in residence or now with Mango - I can't help but marvel that I have a BABY in my belly!!

Anyway, last Tuesday I got to see my little munchkin again (at 23 weeks)! They couldn't see everything they needed to at the last ultrasound, so we had to schedule another one for my visit last week.

And it was "my" and not "our" visit. Can you believe that Everett had to miss this one?! He's been out of town on business so much the last two weeks and we just couldn't coordinate the doctor's, the ultrasound technician's, and his work schedules so I had to go to the doctor all by myself. Well, Mango was with me, but it's not quite the same as having an outside-the-body companion! It was the first - and hopefully last - OB-GYN appointment that Everett has missed in 1.5 pregnancies. Not a bad record!

Anyway, I weighed in and gained a whole 6 pounds, putting my total net gain-age (is that a word?) at 9 pounds - right on track. I still think it's weird that I'm only 9 pounds heavier though since my belly is poking so far out now that it's hitting objects. I actually felt Everett's belly on my belly before feeling his lips on mine when he leaned in to kiss me before work the other day - this puppy is getting big!

Other than that, all was well with the visit. The u/s looked fine and I had nothing too new or exciting to report to the doctor. I did inquire about donating my placenta and umbilical cord blood after Mango and I are done with them. Why would one do this? Cord blood houses an enormous amount of stem cells which are the cells from which all other cells come from. I know some people think of stem cells as a divisive political issue, but whatever your feelings are on how they are obtained, there's no doubting that they could be the answer to some of the most devastating diseases out there including Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes, and heart disease. Plus, stem cells obtained from a cord blood donation doesn't hurt anyone - if the material is not donated, it's thrown away.

My doctor gave me some information about donating to a public (as opposed to private) cord blood bank and I can't think of of reason to opt for throwing away my precious cord blood ripe with possibilities when I can donate it and it can hopefully do some good. The blood will either be put on a registry for potential recipients, or will be used for research purposes. This will be mine and Mango's first act as responsible citizens of the world. What a great way to start life!

Too cool for school

2009-06-05T15:03:00.001-05:00

I took this picture of Zoe this morning...pigtails (a.k.a. two ponytails) and the sunglasses are just too much for this Momma!

Happy Birthday Little One!!

2009-05-31T20:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Second Birthday Zoe!!

We celebrated Zoe's second birthday with a big ol' par-tay on Saturday! There were mostly grown-ups there, but there were enough kids to make it feel like a crazy (and good) kid fest! Zoe loved playing with her "new friends" and some of her pals from her day care class. Mom and Dad enjoyed visiting with the adults and watching the havoc!

Birthday preparation started on Thursday. I made some cookies (gingerbread flavor - Zoe liked them at Christmas) that I was going to use the Bert and Ernie cookie cutters on, but the cookie cutters and the dough just didn't play nice (I probably should have floured the cutters beforehand). Instead we had some frog cookies. It worked out fine! I brought them into day care on Friday for the "special Zoe Birthday snack" along with some cheddar flavored rice cakes and strawberries. The kids gobbled up everything! Zoe got a kick out of helping Miss Brittany pass out her "birthday cookies" to all her classmates. She also was treated with her first of many renditions of "Happy Birthday Dear Zoe!" which she just loved!

I had bought a Bert and Ernie cake mold on Ebay (are you sensing a theme here?) and made the cake Thursday morning. Everett and I decorated it Friday night. The 2.5 hours needed to decorate it were totally worth it when Zoe saw it the next day! You can see in the video below how her face just lit right up when I brought out the cake with everyone singing to Zoe. She just stared at it and stared at it. She got a little testy when it was time for me to take it and cut it up, but she eventually let me take it away if I promised her that she could have a piece! She didn't really eat the cake - just the frosting, which is more than she ate of her first birthday cake!

The party started just after naptime. As Zoe slept, we transformed our backyard into a playland for Zoe and friends. We decorated the tables with a Sesame Street tablecloth and sprinkled balloons about the area. We got out the chalk and our sand/water playstation. Finally, we set up a little barn house for the kids to play in and a hippo blow up thingie (kind of like a kiddie pool) and filled it with balls. We grilled out some chicken and hotdogs and had mac-n-cheese and strawberries and blueberries among other snacks. All in all, we had a great time celebrating Zoe's birthday, and I think Zoe did too!

Enjoy some of the birthday scenes:

!Lo hicimos!

2009-05-24T20:44:00.007-05:00

Well we did it! Or rather, Zoe did it! Our 1-week-before-she-turns-2-year-old said goodbye to her crib and hello to her new Dora big girl bed!

Even though her crib converts into a toddler bed and then into a regular double bed, we need the crib to be a crib for just a tad longer for obvious reasons! So this Sunday we broke her crib down as Zoe said "Bye bye crib!" She watched as Daddy took it apart all excited for this "Dora bed" she heard us talking so much about! And then when Daddy brought in the new bed, I thought she was going to explode with excitement! "Thank you too much MommyDaddy!" she kept saying over and over again as she climbed right in!

The first night was a little iffy for her. I think she was confused. We had to go in a few times to reassure her that all was right. We first went in and put her old blanket on her and gave her a doll to sleep with. Then we had to rearrange things so she could listen to her music (a fantastic Sponge Bob CD that she listens to all day long!) and reach her books (yes the lights are off and there's no night light, but she likes the security of knowing that they're there for her in the AM). Finally, after much sitting in her room in the chair and on the end of the bed, we had to put our collective foot down and tell her it was time for nite-nite. She eventually fell asleep.

Tonight, night #2, was great! She went right to sleep and only called for MommyDaddy only once. Our little girl is getting so big!

The many faces of Zoe

2009-05-20T20:34:00.005-05:00

I kid you not, Zoe said the following while making this face, "I see two Mommies!" She absolutely kills me!!

I also kid you not, this girl can go from sad to glad in t minus two minutes!! I repeat, she absolutely kills me!!

We took these pictures because of her sticker-laden leg. She asked for her sticker container and we gave it to her in the kitchen and then sat down in the living room. She usually takes a few and then joins us on the couch. Well she was quiet for a while so we went in to check on her. She had fished out all the "good" stickers - the puffy space alien and doggie stickers and plastered them all over her right leg. She just looked up at us with those big blue eyes and even bigger smile and said, "Hi MommyDaddy!"

Did I mention that she kills me?

Culture Club

2009-05-19T20:19:00.007-05:00

Zoe enjoyed her second Nashville Symphony performance on the Vanderbilt campus!

She loved being outside and listening to ... no, not the music per se, but rather Mommy reading to her and her friend! For once, I did not bring with me a stash of books, but her friend's Mom had a library in her bag that Zoe kept borrowing from. I didn't mind though. I often get accosted by the children in Zoe's class asking me to read to them. And I can't help but say yes. So we read some new books about Dora, the farm, and some other series featuring a Little Critter.

Zoe did get up and do her thang - dancing that is. Once I told her that she could get up and dance, she took off! You can see her in the video in the thick of it - a gaggle of children running around and dancing and Zoe takes a wee moment to take it all in before she joins in the merriment oncde again. I thought she was also going to take that little girl's tutu (so did the little girl), but Zoe just wanted to say HI. Such a friendly gal!

In one ear...

2009-05-18T13:16:00.013-05:00

Evidently it's not all "in one ear and out the other" when it comes to Zoe...well at least some of the times. You see, we're working on our listening skills. Zoe has a tendency not to listen to her Momma sometimes. This brings much frustration to me and "time outs" for Zoe. Even though Zoe doesn't really understand the passage of time, I've discovered that she does understand what a "time out" means.

Whenever she doesn't listen to Mommy or Daddy, or if she bites or hits, she gets a time out. What this entails is Mommy or Daddy telling her that (1) "You have to listen to Mommy/Daddy!", or (2) "We do not hit/bite Mommy/Daddy!" then we bring her into her room and tell her she has a time out. We leave (with the door open) and soon thereafter follows Zoe, close on our heels, crying. We say (1) "Are you going to listen to Mommy/Daddy?" or (2) "No more hitting/biting right?" and she says yes she'll be good and even occasionally says she's sorry (we don't force her to say this and when she does, it warms my heart to pieces because I think she truly is sorry - that is, assuming she understands what that emotion even means). We give her kisses and hugs and the incident is forgotten.

Well the given incident may be instantly forgotten, but last night we got some proof that the lesson remains. Great Grandma Guadagnino (my Grandma) gave Zoe an early birthday gift of some Dora the Explorer characters - Boots the monkey and Isa the dinosaur. Last night Zoe was busy playing with her new toys on the living room floor when all of sudden we heard her say, "No, Isa, no! Time out!" and she ran to her bedroom. I asked her what was going on and she explained to me that, "Isa hit Boots. No Isa. Time out." Sure enough, Isa was sitting in Zoe's bedroom by herself in front of Zoe's crib - right where Zoe gets deposited for her time outs! Isa was eventually allowed to re-join Boots in the living room, but it didn't last long because evidently, "Isa bite Boots." Oh dear. This continued for a while until Isa learned her lesson! Then everyone played nicely until bedtime. Boots and Isa joined Zoe in the crib, and as far as I know, there were no more time outs that night!

Glad to see that Zoe is starting to learn right from wrong. It will take some time - and probably more time outs - but we'll get there!

(Zoe wanted to take a picture of "DoraBootsIsa" - all one word. Notice the shadow in the picture - Zoe needs to learn to move her hand away from the flash! ha!)

Thrill Seeker

2009-05-15T11:25:00.000-05:00

Zoe is a bit of a dare devil. She likes to go fast, high, and strong whether she's in a wagon, on a swing, or in a bathtub. Here's a video of her in the bathtub getting hammered by a cup of water:

Yes, she was still in her toddler tub! It's just so much easier to contain her in it! Although her dare devil tendencies means that she likes to straighten out her legs, scootch up the side, and then then let go and slide down into the toddler tub with a thud! I don't mind the splashing water, but I did start to fear for her safety! But we just moved her into the "big girl" tubby so more of that fun little activity! Don't worry - she'll find more!

Half-way there

2009-05-14T21:33:00.007-05:00

Assuming Mango comes relatively on time, we're half-way through this adventure! Yippee!

Actually, I'm in the middle of not only my pregnancy, but of my pregnancy bliss. Second trimester is awesome! I feel pretty good, if not a bit tired, and am sooooo looking forward to meeting and holding my new baby.

I keep looking back at all the pictures of Zoe just after she arrived and it's hard to believe she was ever so small. These pictures were taken in the first days home. Those were crazy days followed by some crazy months and are now followed by crazy years! She's almost 2 years old. My baby is almost 2 years old and she's about to be a big sister to a little munchkin who will always look up to her. And she won't know it for years, but she'll look up to Mango as well. You can't help it; it's part of being a big sister. I should know. I have two "baby" sisters who I look up to every day.

Smushy Face McGee

2009-05-13T21:25:00.007-05:00

The Nashville Zoo has a few new residents that we visited on Mother's Day. Zoe's favorite - after we told her about them - were the anteaters. Have you ever seen those things? Craziest animal I've ever seen, besides Little Miss Smushy Face McGee:

The hardest job I'll ever love

2009-05-10T22:47:00.001-05:00

This Mother's Day I've decided to reflect on what it means to be a mother.

It means being tired, and cranky, and sometimes flaky. It means cleaning, and cooking, and cleaning again. It means frustrations, and anxiety, and sometimes hopelessness.

But it also means love, and cherished memories, and lucky moments. It means family, and trust, and togetherness. It means giving your all, even when you think you've got nothing left. It means that your world is completely changed forever, for the better.

At the end of the day, when I see my darling daughter sleeping peacefully and healthy in her crib and when I feel my unborn child stir about in my abdomen, I know that even though it's hard, being a Mom is the best job I could ever have.

Thanks Everett for making me a Mom. Zoe and Mango are the best Mother's Day gifts anyone could ever want. I love you.

I am pregnant!

2009-05-04T15:06:00.011-05:00

Not only do I look and feel the part, but now I have internal pictures to prove it! Here's baby Mango! Doesn't s/he look cute?! Okay, as the ultrasound tech said, baby ultrasound pictures all look the same, but that doesn't mean that the pics aren't amazing!

Mango was dancing all over the place!! Her/his legs were going crazy - first straightening out, then bunching up next to the body. We saw fingers, we saw toes, we saw the eyes and brains and spinal cord, and we saw and heard the heart beat - 163 bpm!! One of the most precious sounds I have ever heard!!

Just like his/her big sister at her 20 week u/s, Mango was not entirely cooperative during this visit. The tech really tried hard, but no matter what, she could not get a clear profile picture of our little munchkin. Honestly though, that's fine with us because that means we get to see Mango again at our next appointment in June! Yeah!

Regarding the baby's gender, the tech said - and I quote - "It's either a boy or a girl." So there you have it! We're having a boy or a girl!

Regarding my stats, I gained another 3 pounds making total weight gain equal to 6 smackeroos. I mention this only because I can see belly expanding and I can feel it getting bigger as it pushes up against my clothing (I've finally busted out maternity clothes), but I don't think 6 measly pounds justifies all my seeing and feeling. Man, pregnancy is weird.